Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that 11 individuals have been detained for the assault on a suburban Moscow concert hall, which claimed the lives of at least 133 individuals, leaving the venue destroyed by fire.
In a speech to the nation, Putin denounced it as “a bloody, barbaric act of terrorism” and mentioned that all four directly involved individuals have been apprehended. He suggested that they were attempting to escape to Ukraine, which he claimed was attempting to assist them.
Ukraine has firmly rejected any involvement in the attack. Putin announced additional security measures across the country and declared March 24 as a day of national mourning.
The Islamic State group’s branch in Afghanistan took responsibility for the attack on Friday in a statement posted on related social media channels. A U.S. intelligence official informed The Associated Press that American agencies had verified the group's responsibility for the attack.
The assault, which was the deadliest in Russia in years, occurred shortly after Putin's orchestrated electoral victory and during the country’s prolonged conflict in Ukraine.
Some Russian lawmakers immediately blamed Ukraine for the attack. However, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied any involvement.
“Ukraine has never used terrorist tactics,” he wrote on X, previously known as Twitter. “The outcome of this war will only be determined on the battlefield.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry refuted any involvement and accused Moscow of exploiting the attack to fuel support for its war efforts.
“We view these accusations as a deliberate ploy by the Kremlin to escalate anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russian society, encourage greater mobilization of Russian citizens to participate in the unlawful aggression against our country, and undermine Ukraine’s reputation in the international community,” the ministry stated in a release.
Images released by Russian state media on Saturday depicted a large number of emergency vehicles still present at the site of the destroyed Crocus City Hall, which could accommodate over 6,000 individuals.
Videos circulated online depicted armed individuals at the venue shooting civilians at close range. Russian news sources reported that authorities and witnesses stated the attackers hurled explosive devices, sparking the fire. The theater's roof collapsed early on Saturday as firefighters battled the blaze.
In a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, the IS’s Afghanistan affiliate claimed it had targeted a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk. The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately confirmed.
An American intelligence official informed the AP that U.S. intelligence agencies had obtained information in recent weeks about the IS branch planning an attack in Moscow, and U.S. officials had privately shared this intelligence with Russian officials earlier this month.
The person in charge was told about the situation but was not allowed to publicly talk about the secret information and spoke to the AP without revealing their identity.
People from all over the world have sent messages expressing anger, surprise, and support for the victims and their families.
The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the terrible and cowardly terrorist attack and emphasized the need for the people who did it to be held responsible. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also strongly condemned the terrorist attack, according to his spokesperson.
Meanwhile, many people lined up in Moscow on Saturday to donate blood and plasma, as reported by Russia’s health ministry.
Putin, who won the presidential vote this week after cracking down on opposition, publicly criticized the Western warnings of a potential terrorist attack, calling it an attempt to scare and destabilize Russian society.
In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS brought down a Russian passenger plane over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board, most of whom were Russian vacationers returning from Egypt. The group, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, has also claimed several attacks in Russia’s unstable Caucasus and other regions in recent years. It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
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