Putin Raises Suspicions of Ukraine’s Involvement in Moscow Attack

Moscow, 25 March 2024: Russia mourns the victim of the Crocus City Hall, lowering flags to half-mast after 137 people were gunned down with automatic weapons at a concert. The massacre is marked as the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege.

The Russian President declared Sunday as a national day of mourning, pledging to track down and punish all those behind the attack. The attack claimed the lives of nearly 137 people including three children, leaving 150 injured in critical state.

President Putin also expressed his deep condolences to the families of victims, “I express my deep sincere condolences to all those who lost their loved ones. The whole country and our entire people are grieving with you.”

On Sunday, the governor of Moscow Andrei Vorobyov said the search operation for attackers is still ongoing, while the rescue operation has been completed.

Also Read: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny passes away in custody in prison

Who Were the Attackers? 

On their official Telegram channel, Amaq News Agency, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. On Saturday the group released footage claiming it to be the footage of the attack.

The footage released by Russian media shows that during an interrogation one of the suspects claimed to have been offered money, half a million roubles ($5400) to carry out the attack. The suspect can be heard saying, “I shot people” in Russian. When interrogated about the reason he claimed, “For money.”

However, President Putin has not yet mentioned the name of the group of attackers or has any connection with the attackers. Contrarily, the Russian government is doubting Ukraine for having sent the attackers. President Putin has said that the attackers were trying to escape to Ukraine. But Ukraine has categorically rejected Putin’s statement.

President Putin said that Russian authorities apprehended and detained 11 people including the gunmen who were trying to escape to Ukraine. Additionally, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSS) claimed that the gunmen had contacts in Ukraine, but were captured near the border.

On the other hand, the White House released a statement saying that they had shared the intel about the potential attack with Moscow and also issued a public advisory to Americans in Russia on March 7. The spokespersons of the US National Security Council also rejected the Russian claim that the attackers were from Ukraine.

In addition, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova released a statement rejecting the claims by the US about sharing any information regarding the attack.