Russia has asserted that it possesses evidence connecting the perpetrators of last week’s massacre at a concert hall near Moscow to Ukrainian nationalists, a claim dismissed by the United States as baseless.
Despite an Islamic State (IS) affiliate claiming responsibility for the attack, President Vladimir Putin and Russian security services persist in alleging involvement by Kyiv and Western entities.
Putin stated that 11 individuals had been detained following the assault, in which gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall, resulting in the deaths of at least 143 people.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, evidence of the suspects’ ties to Ukrainian nationalists was obtained through interrogation, examination of seized technical devices, and analysis of financial transactions. The committee also claimed that significant sums of money and cryptocurrency had been received from Ukraine.
The accusations of involvement have been labelled as absurd by Ukraine and its Western allies.
John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, criticised Russia’s assertions, likening them to “nonsense propaganda.”
Four suspects, reportedly from Tajikistan, were presented in a Moscow courtroom with visible injuries. Russia’s FSB security service stated that the gunmen were apprehended while attempting to flee to Ukraine, although Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko contradicted this, suggesting they were headed to Belarus.
Despite the Islamic State (IS) repeatedly claiming responsibility for the attack and circulating videos of the gunmen, the Kremlin has not indicated any plans for President Putin to visit the families of the victims or the site of the massacre.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that any necessary contacts with the victims’ families would be communicated accordingly, adding that it would be inappropriate for Putin to undertake fact-finding trips amidst ongoing rescue efforts at Crocus City Hall.