A group calling itself Pohjoinen Veljeskunta, or "Northern Brotherhood," has declared an armed campaign for Karelia's independence from Russia. Its statement comes as InformNapalm's Fire database records 242 sabotage incidents inside Russia in 2026, more than in 2024 and 2025.
The Karelia Declaration
Northern Brotherhood released a video of masked, armed men. It said it intends to wage a guerrilla campaign against Moscow for Karelia's independence and the rights of Finno-Ugric peoples. Karjalan Heimoryhma has publicly backed the group. That volunteer movement's members fight alongside Ukraine against Russia. The movement has previously circulated claims about operations by a Karelian underground.
The declaration adds a political demand to the picture of resistance inside Russia. People who present themselves as ready to fight are calling to break Karelia away from Moscow. The Fire database records incidents, not Northern Brotherhood operations. The group's claims about its own actions should not be folded into that tally.
The Cost at Home
Fire has documented 242 sabotage incidents inside Russia this year. That compares with 239 across 2024 and 2025 together. Drone and missile strikes are tracked separately. Russia's rear is under pressure from threats beyond the long-range attacks it can see coming on a radar screen.
Russia's rear is under pressure from threats beyond the long-range attacks it can see coming on a radar screen.
That pressure leaves every armed declaration as something less than a new front. It does make Moscow's claim to unchallenged control of its territory look increasingly hollow. The Kremlin exports sabotage to Europe. Inside Russia, acts of sabotage are rising sharply.
Europe's Choice
European intelligence and security services are exposing Russian networks targeting critical infrastructure, defence industries and support for Ukraine. InformNapalm's analysis places that campaign beside the growing number of incidents inside Russia. It asks whether protecting Europe's targets is enough, or whether Moscow must bear higher costs for its war.
The analysis is available in nine languages:
- Ukrainian
- English
- Azerbaijani
- Turkish
- German
- Swedish
- Danish
- Korean
- Finnish
The Finnish edition matters here. Karelia's independence and Finno-Ugric rights have now been invoked by an armed group, while the wider fight over Russian sabotage reaches audiences on both sides of the border.