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The Russian government has acknowledged for the first time that the bombing at Crocus City Hall in Moscow was executed by Islamic State (IS) militants, yet insists on implicating Ukraine in the assault, according to reports by Russian media on May 24.
On the night of March 22, shooters launched an attack at the Crocus City Hall located in Krasnogorsk, a district on the outskirts of Moscow, resulting in the death of a minimum of 145 individuals and injuries to over 500.
As per reports by the state-operated RIA Novosti news organization, Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), stated that every element of the operation including preparation, funding, execution of the attack, and the escape was orchestrated through the internet by affiliates of Khorasan Province (IS-K), an IS subdivision active within Afghanistan and Pakistan.
At a gathering of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the CIS Member States in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Bortnikov claimed, “The investigation continues, however, it is already conclusive that Ukrainian military intelligence had a direct hand in this assault,” despite not providing proof for the allegations against Kyiv.
“Following their act, the terrorists were given explicit directions to progress towards the Ukrainian frontier, where they had a ‘window’ set for them on the opposite side,” he added, yet without presenting any substantive evidence of Kyiv’s involvement.
Both Ukraine and the White House have categorically refuted any ties to the said attack.
Subsequent to the assault, Russian officials apprehended around a dozen men. Of those detained, more than half are natives of Tajikistan, and four stand accused of perpetrating the attack themselves.
In court appearances, these suspects showed obvious signs of maltreatment by Russian officials.
While IS took credit for the atrocity, Russian President Putin and other senior officials continuously attempted to hold Ukraine responsible without substantiation.
On March 25, Putin referred to the perpetrators as “radical Islamists,” without explicitly mentioning IS, and proclaimed they had associations with Ukraine, again without offering proof.
Opinion: Why ISIS attacked Russia and why Russia blames Ukraine
The plot to strike the Crocus City Hall concert venue in a Moscow suburb wasn’t entirely unexpected. The Kremlin ignored U.S. intelligence warnings of a looming attack by “extremists,” potentially to deflect blame onto an opportune fall guy when the attack happened. The tragedy of
Following the incident, on March 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded the capture and surrender of the Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Vasyl Maliuk.
An OpenMinds survey, referenced by the Financial Times (FT) on March 30, indicates that more than 50% of Russians hold the Ukrainian government accountable for the Crocus City Hall shooting just outside Moscow.
Approximately 27% of those surveyed attributed the attack to the Islamic State (ISIS), while another 6% identified the “collective West,” such as the U.S., the U.K., and NATO, as the responsible parties.
The U.S. had warned the Russian government that the Crocus City Hall concert spot in suburban Moscow could be a potential objective for terrorists two weeks prior to the offensive, the Washington Post reported on April 2.
Unnamed American officials cited in the Washington Post reported that the U.S. had singled out Crocus City Hall as a probable ISIS target in briefings with Moscow. These details bring into question the Kremlin’s narrative that American alerts were too “general” to deter an attack.
Before the mass shooting event, Putin publicly dismissed any warnings of potential terrorist threats from the West as simple “blackmail” and as efforts “to destabilize our society.”
Q: Who did Russia claim was responsible for the Crocus Hall attack initially?A: Initially, Russia did not specify Islamic State and instead alluded to “radical Islamists” and attempted to link the attack to Ukraine without providing evidence.Q: What is the role of Khorasan Province (IS-K) according to Russia’s FSB?A: The FSB alleges that IS-K coordinated the preparation, financing, and execution of the attack and the subsequent escape plan via the internet.Q: Has Ukraine acknowledged any involvement in the attack?A: Ukraine has categorically denied any connection to the attack, and this position is supported by the White House, which has also seen no indication of Kyiv being behind it.Q: What does the American intelligence say about the attack on Crocus City Hall?A: U.S. officials warned the Russian government about a potential threat to Crocus City Hall, specifically identifying it as a possible ISIS target two weeks before the attack.The admission by Russian authorities that Islamic State was responsible for the tragic events at Crocus City Hall demonstrates a shift in narrative, even as Russia continues to allege Ukraine’s involvement without tangible evidence. The situation underscores complex geopolitical dynamics and the Kremlin’s tendency to portray Ukraine as an aggressor amid the larger context of ongoing hostilities. The unfolding of this situation will continue to require meticulous attention from the international community to discern facts from strategic misinformation.Note: We, TheUBJ, do not produce the news content presented here. The information provided is a rewritten version sourced from various sources on the internet through AI news feed technology. We do not claim ownership or authorship of the news content. The original https://kyivindependent.com/russia-admits-islamic-state-behind-crocus-hall-terrorist-attack-still-tries-to-blame-ukraine/ link is provided for reference.
