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"It is extremely important for us now, when we're dealing with what happened last Friday, to rely on these values of creativity, humanism and mercy," Putin said. "They unite us in supporting all victims, in our determination to stay strong and together."Artists and educators have a special role in preserving and promoting those values, by influencing the mood of the public and shaping the future of the nation, the Russian president added.
"But we know who carried out the attack. We want to know who ordered it."
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.
Comment: President Putin again shows that he is magnitudes of order above other leaders and that he has a strong spiritual connection. Despite the horrific crimes which were committed, executing the patsies does little to root out the evil by whose order the massacre was committed. The move is unexpected and will undoubtedly unsettle the West as such a move not only is in stark contrast to the picture of Putin as a dictator, which they have propagated far and wide. It also shows the real values which Russia is fighting for and which is polar opposites to the values of the Western leadership no matter how hard the West repeats their tired slogans of "freedom and democracy."
One leader from the past who showed mercy and humanity even to those who tried to kill him was Julius Caesar, from whom perhaps the origins of Christianity started. Laura Knight-Jadczyk wrote a book which pierces through the veil of early Christianity and towards the end shows some of the many elements which alludes to Caesar being one of the actors which inspired early Christianity. Read her book "From Paul to Mark".
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