'Radical Islamists' carried out Moscow terror attack - Putin

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Mon, 25 Mar 2024 09:50 UTC

© Sputnik / Kirill Kallinikov

A view shows the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident and massive fire, outside Moscow, Russia.

The Russian president still suspects that Ukraine was complicit in the tragedy.

Russia knows who carried out the Crocus City Hall attack but is now investigating who gave the order, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, pointing to Ukraine as being a possible culprit.

"This attack was carried out by radical Islamists," Putin said in the opening remarks of a video call with law enforcement officials.

The US and its allies are now trying to cover for their proxies in Kiev, insisting that Ukraine had nothing to do with the terrorist attack and that the party responsible was Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), the Russian president noted.

"But we know who carried out the attack. We want to know who ordered it."

Russian law enforcement is currently looking into the perpetrators, who have been apprehended and brought before a judge. The investigation must be "professional, without any political bias," Putin said.

More than 130 people were killed at the concert venue northwest of Moscow on Friday evening, when several armed men began shooting into the crowd and set the hall on fire. A terrorist group calling itself Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has claimed responsibility.

Russian security services detained seven alleged perpetrators, who were driving towards Ukraine, as well as four of their suspected accomplices. The men were identified as ethnic Tajiks.

Putin noted that the fact the terrorists were headed for Ukraine posed questions that needed answering.

"Who was waiting for them there? It is clear that those who support the Kiev regime do not want to be accomplices and sponsors of terrorism. But a lot of questions remain," he said.

The US and the EU swiftly insisted that Ukraine had nothing to do with the attack and that IS - a shadowy group allegedly operating in Afghanistan and Central Asia - was the sole culprit.

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Moscow terror attack could be linked to Ukraine - Putin

The deadly terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall was a clear attempt to intimidate Russia and serves the interests of the Ukrainian government, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

More than 130 people were killed at the concert venue northwest of Moscow on Friday evening, when several armed men began shooting into the crowd and set the hall on fire. Speaking with law enforcement and regional officials on Monday evening, Putin argued the atrocity fit the pattern of actions by Kiev.

"This atrocity may be only a link in a whole series of attempts by those who have been fighting our country since 2014, using the neo-Nazi Kievregime as their hand," Putin said. "And the Nazis, as is well known, never hesitated to use the most dirty and inhumane means to achieve their goals."

A terrorist group calling itself Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has claimed responsibility for the concert venue massacre. The US and the EU swiftly insisted that Ukraine had nothing to do with the attack and that ISIS-K, a shadowy group allegedly operating in Afghanistan and Central Asia, was the sole culprit.

Russian security services have apprehended a dozen suspects, including seven alleged perpetrators, intercepted as they drove towards the border with Ukraine. They were identified as Tajik nationals. Speaking on Monday evening, Putin described them as "radical Islamists."

A question that needs answering is why the terrorists headed for Ukraine after carrying out the attack, Putin said.

"Who was waiting for them there? It is clear that those who support the Kiev regime do not want to be accomplices and sponsors of terrorism. But a lot of questions remain," he added.

While Russia knows who pulled the trigger, the president said, Moscow still needs to find who gave the order. He made it clear that Kiev is his primary suspect, however.

With Ukraine's military losing on the frontline, Kiev has attempted to breach the Russian border, shelled civilians in Belgorod and launched missiles at Crimea, Putin noted at the meeting. All of these actions "create a logical sequence to a terrorist attack," seeking both to intimidate Russia and fortify domestic morale, so that Ukrainians would continue "obeying orders" from Washington and keep fighting, he added.