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"We currently have information that the two explosions have hurt 104 people, of which 32 were killed," he said.
Stepanov said the process of the victims' identification has not been completed yet.
"Unfortunately, this process may take more than one day. Some victims are expected to be identified with relatives' help. There are plans to use genetic tests, too," he said.
The terrorists wanted to sow panic and fear, making use of the impossibility to ensure the complete security of transportation systems, Lev Korolkov, veteran of the Vympel special task unit, told the Voice of Russia.
"It is impossible to take each and every transportation vehicle or each and every crowded place under guard. Then, all public transport would have to be halted, all shopping centers closed and all railway stations shut. It's a process aimed at destabilizing the general situation. Such high-profile terrorist attacks inflicting a large number of casualties mean that some forces are attempting to rock the boat. Those forces could be those seeking territorial secession or maximum control over the North Caucasus to create fertile ground for a future caliphate. We have seen similar things in the Middle East and North Africa over recently," the expert said.
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Cynically planned on the eve of New Year celebrations, this strike is another attempt by terrorists to open an internal front, spread panic and chaos, cause inter-religious hatred and conflict in Russian society, says Russian Foreign Ministry.
The terrorist attacks in Volgograd are an attempt to trigger inter-confessional strife in the Russian society. This came in a report of the Russian Foreign Ministry'.
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Criminal attacks in Volgograd, as well as the attacks of terrorists in in the US, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and other countries, have much in common, and their inspirers have much in common too, the document stresses.
Russia's Foreign Ministry stresses that amid the continued "frank" provocation appeals issued by the bandit warlords - such as Doku Umarov - to unite the forces under the flag of jihad and to draw new militants into the war, the destructive position of some politicians and "political technologists", who are trying to divide into "correct" and "incorrect", depending on the geopolitical tasks, is becoming more and more evident.
Such moves have more than once led to tragic consequences. Terrorism is always a crime, and terrorists must be punishable by law. And what is needed today is a unanimous denunciation of terrorism and, of course, international solidarity to counter terrorism and the ideology of violence and extremism, which is a feeding ground for terrorism, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.
Volgograd trolleybus bomber's name is Pavel Pechenkin from Mari El region - VoR's source
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Pavel Pechenkin, a member of the Buinaksk ring operating in Dagestan who was born in the town of Volzhsk in the Republic of Mari El, is suspected of the Volgograd railroad terminal bombing, a source from the law enforcement authorities said.
He said Pechenkin joined the Dagestani militants in spring 2012.
"Pavel's parents - Nikolai and Fanaziya - came to Dagestan in September 2013 and searched for him in the town of Buinaksk and the suburbs. The search was unsuccessful and they made a video address to their son, who had adopted the Islamic name of Ansar ar-Rusi. The parents failed to find their son and returned home," the source said.
According to the parents, Pavel Pechenkin was an ER nurse in his home town.
The suicide bomber will be definitively identified in DNA tests. Pavel's father, Nikolai, donated his blood for the DNA test on Monday morning.
Number of injured in Volgograd trolley bus blast reaches 41 with 27 hospitalized - Health Ministry
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"There is information that 41 people were hurt by the explosion, of which 27 have been hospitalized, the ministry press service told Interfax. The terrorist attack killed 14 people, of which 11 died at the scene and three died on their way to the hospital, the Health Ministry said.
Two teenagers seriously wounded by blast, child in coma, death toll may rise - Health Minister
The baby boy, injured in the trolleybus explosion in Volgograd, is in coma and his condition is considered to be extremely serious, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said on air of the Rossiya 24 (Russia 24) TV channel. The death toll may rise due to critical condition of the injured, she added.
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"The condition of two other children is close to relatively satisfactory, they have minor concussions. It can be said here that everything will be ok," Skvortsova said.
The condition of most patients is "relatively satisfactory to moderately severe," Skvortsova said.
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"As of today, it is not necessary to bring those injured in the trolleybus blast in Volgograd to Moscow hospitals," Skvortsova said. Patients in serious condition can not be moved and the others have favorable prognosis, she said. Volgograd has enough donated blood for the injured, the minister said. "No issues with providing medical care exist in the city," she said.
Putin orders security across Russia with focus on Volgograd
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued an order to enhance security measures in every Russian city and in Volgograd in particular. That's according to an official representative of the Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee.
The country's anti-terror committee said it was to hand in security reports to the President every day. Putin will also be given all the updates concerning the situation in the region of Volgograd, following two fatal bombings that struck the southern city over the past 24 hours.
Suicide bomb blast strikes Volgograd trolleybus - investigators
Russian investigators have confirmed that the trolleybus in the country's southern city of Volgograd was targeted by a suicide bomber, with the charge containing 4 kg of TNT. This is according to the Investigating Committee's spokesman Vladimir Markin.
Mass registration checks conducted in Volgograd
Law enforcement agencies have begun large-scale registration checks in Volgograd. The registration checks are conducted in apartment buildings, in markets, in retail outlets, in hotels, and in the city's transport infrastructure.
Volunteers, Cossacks to stay on guard at Volgograd vital infrastructure sites
Cossacks and volunteers will assist in keeping the public peace in Volgograd, the National Antiterrorism Committee said on Monday. The operative staff chaired by the Federal Security Service regional department head and the antiterrorism committee are working together, the committee said. "They have decided to involve volunteers and Cossacks in the provision of the public peace and the protection of vital infrastructure, transportation and other spheres," it said.
Volgograd trolley-bus bomb was equivalent to 4 kilos of TNT - Markin
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"Early reports indicate that the explosive device was equivalent to no less than 4 kilos of TNT. It was filled with damaging agents the same as the explosive device at the [Volgograd] railway station," Markin said.
He said that similar damaging agents were used in both the Sunday and Monday explosions in Volgograd. "As the damaging agents in the two explosive devices were identical this confirms the theory of the investigation about the connection between the two terror attacks," Markin said.
Two recent terrorist attacks in Russia's Volgograd linked - Investigation committee
The Investigative Committee has announced it established a link between the explosions at the Volgograd train station and on the trolleybus. The explosion that killed 15 people and injured more than 20 people was apparently set off by a suicide bomber, spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, confirmed. The bomb may have been planted in the central part of the trolley bus rather than brought in by a suicide bomber, said the National Antiterrorist Committee.
Interior Ministry denies rumors about new explosions in Volgograd.
Residents of Volgograd are getting false information on new explosions on public transport, Svetlana Smolyaninova, an official with the Interior Ministry's Main Department for the Volgograd region, said.
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Smolyaninova said these rumors may be due to citizens' generally difficult psychological situation. She called on the people of Volgograd to stay calm.
Security tightened in Moscow metro
The security has been tightened on Moscow's transport facilities due to the terrorist attacks in Volgograd. This information has been confirmed to Interfax by Alexei Mayorov, the head of the Moscow regional security department.
Three victims of Volgograd trolley bus blast are in serious condition - Russian Health Minister
Three people hurt in the terrorist attack in a Volgograd trolley bus are hospitalized in serious condition, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova, who is now in Volgograd, told Rossiya 24 television.
Volgograd police alerted in the wake of terror attacks
The police in Volgograd have been alerted in relation to the explosions shaking the city.
"In relation to the terror attack the personnel of the Volgograd region department of the Interior Ministry has been alerted as of 1 pm on December 29," the Russian news agency was told at the department.
Special control has been assumed over strategic facilities and crowded places. Patrol police posts have been reinforced with special police and trainers with dogs.
The number of patrols has been increased.
The police are urging city residents and visitors to remain calm and report about all suspicious persons and discarded objects to law enforcement bodies.
A high degree of the threat of terrorism has been introduced in Volgograd region.
Governor Sergei Bozhenov signed a corresponding resolution with the authorization of the FSB department.
The yellow level was introduced as of 7 pm on December 29 for 15 days.
15 people died, 23 injured in Russia's Volgograd trolleybus blast
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Tentative reports say that ten people have been killed and fifteen hurt in an explosion on a trolleybus in Volgograd on Monday morning, Russian health minister's spokesman Oleg Salagai has said, confirming the estimates of the country's Investigative Committee. Other reports say that up to 15 people died and more than 20 injured in the deadly trolleybus blast in Russia's southern city Volgograd.
The blast rocked trolleybus No15 when it was close to a market in the city's Dzerzhinsky district. The shockwave blew out windows in houses nearby. The national Anti-terror Committee has said the bomb was apparently planted on the vehicle.
"According to preliminary data, ten people were killed and 15 injured," Salagai said.
Russia's Healthcare Minister Verokina Skvortsova has been spotted at the site of the bombing. She told reporters the victims had suffered burns and traumas, adding some of them might be airlifted to Moscow to get better treatment. The blast on the trolleybus comes a day after a deadly explosion at a central train station in Volgograd, which killed 17 people and wounded over 40.
"We are terrified. Everyone disembarked from buses and trams to walk on foot. I live 200 meters away from that place, I was just passing it on my way to work," Sergey Stukalov, an eyewitness, told RIA Novosti. Sergey also said that the blast occurred on the No.15 trolley route, connecting a suburb to Volgograd's downtown area.
The trolleybus' driver has survived. He is now in hospital. Eyewitnesses say he was a trainee.
Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the President has been alerted to the second Volgograd explosion. "Corresponding reports have been handed in to the President by security services. The head of state has made all provisions," Peskov said.
President Vladimir Putin has met Federal Security Service (FSB) head Alexander Bortnikov who informed him about the Monday morning trolley-bus explosion in Volgograd, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has announced. "The president is receiving corresponding reports along the lines of other special services too. The head of state has given all due instructions," Peskov said.
The 495th rescue center is heading to Volgograd and the Southern regional search and rescue unit and the regional specialized firefighting and rescue unit are ready to head to Volgograd, the press service for the Emergency Situations Ministry's Main Department for the Volgograd region told Interfax.
"Twenty-two psychologists from the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, the Emergency Situations Ministry's Southern Regional Center, and the Emergency Situations Ministry's Main Department for the Volgograd region are now at the site of the explosion in the Dzerzhinsky district of Volgograd," the source said.
The hotline of the Emergency Situations Ministry's Main Department for the Volgograd region continues working, the source said. Information on victims and psychological assistance can be received by calling (8442)23-03-18, 23-02-82, 23-02-73.
Early reports say 15 people died in the Monday morning terrorist act in a trolley-bus in Volgograd, and 23 more were wounded, Volgograd region vice governor Vasily Galushkin told Interfax from the scene.
"First aid worked promptly. All the wounded have already been taken to hospital. They are now being identified," he said.
"The picture is horrible. Now the main work will have to be done by investigative bodies. Governor of the region, Vice Premier Olga Golodets and Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova are here now," Galushkin said.
An aircraft of the Emergency Situations' Ministry is preparing to fly to Volgograd to pick up people wounded in the Monday morning trolley-bus explosion, spokesperson for the Southern regional center of the Emergency Situations' Ministry Irina Gogoleva has said."An Ilyushin Il-76 of the Emergencies' Ministry with five medical modules for the transportation of wounded aboard is ready for departure," she said on Russia-24 channel.
Voice of Russia, RIA, Interfax
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