In a television speech on Saturday, Vladimir Putin promised to “punish” those responsible for the attack on Friday night, which resulted in the death of at least 133 people, noting that those responsible had been detained on their way to Ukraine, making no reference to claim of the attack by the Islamic State (IS).
“Any loss of civilian life is completely horrific, even if it happens in countries whose governance we strongly disapprove of, and we can only hope the actors are caught,” Jeremy Hunt said on Sky News.
But asked about the explanations put forward by Moscow, the British minister said he had “very little confidence in what the Russian government says”.
“We know that you are creating a propaganda smokescreen to defend a totally diabolical invasion of Ukraine,” he added, quoted by AFP.
“I take what the government says with great caution […] after what we have seen from them in recent years”, said the British minister.
Russia is today observing a day of national mourning following the attack that took place on Friday night, which is already the deadliest on European soil claimed by IS.
According to investigators, the attackers burst into the Crocus City Hall concert hall before opening fire with automatic weapons on the crowd and setting a fire.
Tags: British minister casts doubt Russian version concert hall attack
