Putin admits ‘radical Islamists’ carried out bloody attacks (document)
Russia on Tuesday sought to blame Ukraine and its Western backers for the Moscow concert hall attack, even as the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the massacre of at least 139 people.
The Kremlin’s security services have been scrambling to explain how gunmen on Friday carried out the worst attack in Russia in more than two decades.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that “radical Islamists” carried out the bloody attacks but suggested they were linked to the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine two years later.
Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB security agency, said on Tuesday that while the person who “ordered” the attack had not yet been identified, the attackers were heading to Ukraine where they would receive a “hero’s welcome.”
Russian news agencies quoted Bortnikov as saying: “We believe that this operation was prepared by the radical Islamists themselves and, of course, with the assistance of Western secret services, and the Ukrainian secret services themselves were directly involved in it. connect.”
Ukraine has strongly denied any accusations from Moscow that it had any role in the attack, and top aides to President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin was trying to cover up the “incompetence” of its intelligence agencies.
Belarus undermines Kremlin narrative
Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, Russia’s closest international ally, appeared to undermine the Kremlin’s main narrative that the attackers were trying to enter his country before traveling to Ukraine.
“There is no way they can get into Belarus. They see that. That’s why they turn around and go to parts of the Ukrainian-Russian border,” he said.
The Kremlin expressed confidence in the country’s powerful security agencies, despite questions over why they failed to prevent the massacre despite public and private warnings from the United States.
Islamic State jihadists have repeatedly said they were responsible since Friday, with Islamic State-affiliated media channels releasing graphic videos of the gunman inside the venue.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Paris had information that jihadists were responsible and warned Russia not to use the attack to blame Ukraine.
The concert hall massacre was a major blow to Putin, who came just over a week after he was re-elected after a lopsided election and the Kremlin declared its support for his military campaign in Ukraine.
Putin said for the first time on Monday that “radical Islamists” were behind last week’s attacks but sought to link them to Kiev.
Without providing any evidence, Putin linked the Krokus town hall attack to a series of incursions on Russian territory by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups, saying they were part of an effort to “spread fear in our society.” .
Eighth suspect remanded in custody
Meanwhile, a Moscow court on Tuesday remanded in custody an eighth suspect detained in connection with the Moscow concert hall attack.
Moscow earlier announced that it had detained 11 people in connection with the attack. In the attack, disguised gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall, opened fire on concertgoers and set the building on fire.
The court’s press service said the latest suspect to be remanded is a man from the Central Asian country Kyrgyzstan.
He was ordered to be detained until at least May 22, officials said, without elaborating on the specific charges against him.
The four men accused of Sunday’s attack are citizens of Tajikistan, also in predominantly Muslim Central Asia.
Three other suspects, reportedly from the same family, including at least one Russian citizen, were charged with terrorism-related crimes on Monday.
A Turkish official said the two Tajik suspects were “traveling freely between Russia and Turkey” before the attack.
The official said both men had been in Turkey shortly before the attack and entered Russia together on the same flight from Istanbul.
All detainees have been charged with terrorism offenses and face life in prison.
The Kremlin has so far rejected suggestions to reintroduce the death penalty following the attacks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
