Russia's spy chief says US, Britain, and Ukraine were behind the Moscow concert hall attack.

By Guardian - 26 March 2024 - 12.27 GMT

The director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, has said, without evidence, that the US, Britain and Ukraine were behind Friday’s Moscow concert hall attack, in which at least 139 people were killed, state news agency Tass reported.

Ukraine has denied Russian accusations of involvement in the attack, for which the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility.

Western countries have said their intelligence indicates that Islamic State-K, Islamic State’s Afghan offshoot, was responsible.

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said yesterday that the terrorist attack was conducted by radical Islamists, but repeated his earlier assertion the attackers had planned to escape to Ukraine before they were arrested.

Bortnikov has also reportedly said that the number of accomplices in the concert hall attack would increase past the current number of 11 detainees.

Summary of the day so far...

• The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused by Russia of spying, has had his pre-trial detention extended by three months to 30 June, a Moscow court said. The latest decision to extend Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention “feels particularly painful, as this week marks one year since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained,” Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador, said. “Evan’s case is not about evidence, due process, or rule of law. It is about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends, as the Kremlin is also doing in the case of Paul Whelan.”
• A Russian court on Tuesday remanded an eighth suspect in custody over the attack on the Moscow concert hall that killed at least 139 people, officials said. Moscow earlier announced it had detained 11 people in connection with the attack on the Crocus City Hall. The court’s press service said the latest suspect to be remanded was a man originally from the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, AFP reported. Officials said he was ordered to be held in detention until at least 22 May, without detailing the exact accusations against him.
• Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council and a close Putin ally, has said that Ukraine was “of course” behind Friday’s deadly attack on the Moscow concert hall, despite Kyiv denying any involvement in the shooting, which Islamic State has claimed responsibility for.
• Russia is trying to expand its forces in the North-West of the country, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update, adding that most of Russia’s troops remain dedicated to fighting in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian security officers have arrested two people suspected of acting on behalf of Russia as they tried to blow up a railway line used to supply weapons to the east for Kyiv’s war effort, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Tuesday. The detainees, identified as residents of the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions, planted an explosive device by the line in Central Poltava region and planned to detonate it remotely, but they were caught red-handed by SBU officers, the statement said.
• Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has demanded the West supply Kyiv with Patriot air defence missiles to help his country’s troops repel Russian forces. “Give us the damn Patriots,” Kuleba told Politico. “If we had enough air defence systems, namely Patriots, we would be able to protect not only the lives of our people, but also our economy from destruction.”

1 of 4 Meetings on measures being taken after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.

By The Kremlin, Moscow - March 25, 202421:35

The meeting was attended by Prosecutor-General Igor Krasnov, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Chief of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov, Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov, Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops – Commander of the National Guard Troops Viktor Zolotov, Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues,

First of all, I would like to express again my deep condolences to the families and friends of those who perished in the inhuman terrorist attack of March 22, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured and wounded.

I would like to thank everyone who saved people and helped the injured in extremely difficult circumstances. In this difficult time, our society showed an example of true solidarity, unity, and mutual support.

I know that the victims’ families are receiving words of sympathy from people of different ethnicities, from all regions of our country and of all ages, including children and students. Those who planned this terrorist attack hoped to sow panic and discord in our society but instead met with our unity and resolve to counter this evil.

I would like you to report today on the course of the investigation and search to identify all those who are involved in this terrorist attack and those who ordered and organised it.

Despite our overwhelming pain and grief, sympathy, and legitimate desire to punish all perpetrators of this inhuman atrocity, the investigation must proceed with the utmost professionalism and objectivity, with no political bias whatsoever.

We know that the crime was perpetrated by radical Islamists. The Islamic World itself has been fighting this ideology for centuries. But we are also seeing how the United States is using different channels to try and convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to its intelligence, there is supposedly no sign of Kiev’s involvement in the Moscow terrorist attack, that the deadly terrorist attack was perpetrated by followers of Islam, members of ISIS, an organisation banned in Russia.

We know whose hands were used to commit this atrocity against Russia and its people. We want to know who ordered it.

We need to obtain answers to a number of questions in the course of joint work of our security services and law enforcement agencies.

For example, do radical and even terrorist Islamist organisations truly have an interest in launching attacks on Russia now that it supports a fair resolution of the escalated conflict in the Middle East? And how do radical Islamists, who present themselves as devout Muslims and follow the so-called pure Islam, justify committing atrocities and serious crimes during the holy month of Ramadan, which is sacred to all Muslims?

We will need to answer these and other, more specific and professional questions in order to carry out an objective investigation into the crime committed in Moscow. One thing is absolutely clear: the heinous crime committed in the Russian capital on March 22 is an act of intimidation, as I said. 

This leads to the next question: who stands to benefit from it? This act of violence is likely just one in a series of attempts by those who have been fighting against our country since 2014, using the neo-Nazi Kiev regime as a pawn. As for the neo-Nazis, it is widely known that they have never hesitated to employ the most repugnant and inhumane methods to achieve their aims.

This becomes even more apparent today, as their much-touted counter-offensive has failed completely, as acknowledged by everyone and no longer disputed. The Russian Armed Forces are maintaining the initiative along the entire front line, while the enemy's efforts to stabilise the front have been unsuccessful.

Hence the attempts to infiltrate our border territories and establish a presence there, artillery attacks, including the use of multiple rocket launchers, on peaceful residential areas and civilian infrastructure facilities, such as power grids, and attempts to launch missiles at the Crimean Bridge and the Crimean Peninsula itself.

These bloody acts of intimidation, like the terrorist attack in Moscow, fit logically into this sequence. Their goal, as I mentioned, is to sow panic in our society while demonstrating to their own people that not all hope is lost for the Kiev regime.

All they need to do is follow the orders of their Western patrons, fight until the last Ukrainian, obey Washington's commands, endorse the new mobilisation law, and form something resembling a new version of the Hitler Youth. To comply with all of this, they will seek new weapons and additional funds, much of which will likely be embezzled and, as is customary in Ukraine today, put into their own pockets.

Incidentally, in the 1920s, the Ukrainian nationalists had an organisation called the Union of Ukrainian Nationalist Youth, which later merged with the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Of course, we must also answer the question of why the terrorists, after committing their crime, attempted to flee specifically to Ukraine. Who was waiting for them there? It is clear that those supporting the Kiev regime do not wish to be implicated in acts of terrorism and be seen as sponsors of terrorism. But there are indeed numerous questions.

I would like to receive regular updates on the progress of the investigation.

Additionally, please provide information on the federal and regional measures taken to support the families of those killed and injured, as well as on how the work of the medical and social services has been organised. We have discussed these issues with our colleagues many times, but today we will go into more detail, as agreed.

Let's get to work. Over to you, Mr. Bastrykin.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin: Mr President,

The Investigative Committee is continuing its active work to investigate the criminal case concerning the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. The investigation has established the complete timeline of the events that occurred.

On March 22, at 6:54 pm, four criminals drove up in a Renault car to the Crocus City Hall concert hall, where they waited for the audience to arrive.

At 7:58 pm, the terrorists armed with automatic firearms opened fire on the visitors outside the Crocus City Hall building.

After entering the lobby and then the concert hall, they continued to shoot at everyone they saw, regardless of gender or age.

Using the gasoline they had brought with them in plastic bottles, they set fire to the premises and left the building at 8:11 pm. As they drove the car out of the parking lot, they ran over pedestrians – a family with two young children – at high speed. The children were seriously injured and taken to hospital.

All the attackers were detained in the Bryansk Region during a pursuit along the motorway leading towards the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Two AK-74 assault rifles, over 500 rounds of ammunition, 28 magazines with ammunition, and bottles with remaining gasoline were found and seized at the scene. The examination of the crime scene is ongoing, involving criminalists and experts from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

Additionally, over 200 inspections, searches and seizures have been conducted, resulting in the seizure of over 1,000 various objects significant to the investigation.

During the search of the apartment where the accused lived, we found fragments of fabric and tools used in preparing the attack, along with their fingerprints.

A Makarov pistol without ammunition and a magazine from a Kalashnikov assault rifle with 30 rounds of ammunition were found in the criminals' car. We have scheduled 90 forensic examinations – ballistic, genetic, and fingerprint examinations – on all the seized items, weapons, and ammunition.

Four perpetrators of the terrorist act have been charged and taken into custody. All the accused individuals pleaded guilty during interrogation and in court, providing detailed testimony about the circumstances of the crime, the instigators, and the individuals who aided in the preparation of the terrorist act.

The investigation also identified and detained three other people who assisted in the preparation of the terrorist attack: they provided accommodation in a flat, a car for transportation, and transported money. A motion has been filed with the court to place them in custody.

The initial results of the investigation indicate that the terrorist attack was carefully planned and prepared. As a result of the attack, 139 people died. Of those, 75 have been identified as of today. There are three children among the dead. The identification of the deceased continues.

Out of the total number of deceased, 137 people were killed at the scene of the terrorist attack, and two died in medical Centres. Forty people died from gunshot wounds, two people died from a combination of gunshot and cut/stab wounds, and 45 people died as a result of the fire, from exposure to high temperature and combustion products. In addition, 182 people sustained wounds and injuries of varying severity.

We have commissioned and are conducting 160 forensic medical and genetic examinations to establish the cause of death and identify the victims. We have questioned 131 crime victims and more than 500 witnesses. According to eyewitness testimony, the hall caught fire as a result of the actions of the accused, who spilled gasoline, which they brought with them, on chairs and walls and committed arson.

In this context, the investigation is examining the possibility of a breach of safety requirements and the fire extinguishing system in the Crocus City Hall concert hall. For this purpose, consoles, electronic units, and control devices of the fire-extinguishing system in the concert hall have been collected.

They have been sent for analysis and to retrieve data on the mode of the fire safety system operation at the time of the terrorist attack. The contents of the fire protection system server are being examined by experts. A fire investigation has been launched to establish the operability and timeliness of response of all fire safety systems.

We are working in close contact with operational units of the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service of Russia. We are taking the necessary investigative measures to identify all those involved in the crime, including those who ordered and organized the attack. The investigation into the case is ongoing.

This concludes my report.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.