The secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, accused Ukraine this Tuesday of having orchestrated the terrorist attack in Moscow that caused 139 deaths and was claimed by the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State (IS).
“Of course it is Ukraine,” Patrushev told Russian agencies in response to a question about whether Kiev or IS had orchestrated Friday’s attack.
On Monday, three days after the ‘jihadists’ claim, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the attack had been committed by “radical Islamists”, but also pointed the finger at Ukraine.
Russian authorities refused to elaborate on the alleged Ukrainian lead, saying only that the four assailants, who were detained, had tried to flee by car towards Ukraine.
“It is important to answer the question: why did the terrorists, after their crime, try to leave for Ukraine? Who was waiting for them there?”, Putin said on Monday, quoted by the French agency AFP.
For the Russian opposition, the authorities were concerned with the repression of detractors and the offensive against Ukraine, neglecting the ‘jihadist’ threat, despite Russia having been the target of numerous Islamist attacks in the past.
‘Jihadist’ groups see Russia as a legitimate target, as Moscow fights IS in Syria and the Sahel, and has waged war against Islamist and separatist groups in Chechnya, a Muslim region in the Russian Caucasus (south).
Putin built the image of a strong man precisely through the fight against these groups, responsible for particularly deadly attacks, such as the taking of hostages at the Beslan school in 2004 (330 deaths, including 186 children).
Friday’s attack on the Crocus City concert hall, 20 kilometers from the center of Moscow, was committed by four people armed with machine guns, who also caused a fire in the complex.
Of the 139 dead, 40 were shot dead, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, cited by the Russian agency Interfax.
Authorities also recorded 182 injuries.
Tags: Russian authorities insist accusing Ukraine orchestrating attack
