Russian diplomacy persists in ruling out Daesh’s solo responsibility for the attack

The successive claim by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) – repeated since Friday – is not enough to convince the Kremlin of the responsibility, at least isolated, of the jihadist organization in the biggest attack on Russian territory in the last 20 years. Moscow authorities have taken great pains to spread doubts, suggesting the involvement of Ukraine and even some of Kiev’s Western allies, such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Today, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) questioned the IS’s ability to launch an attack in the Moscow capital, which claimed, according to a new report released this Wednesday, 140 lives, to which 360 were injured.

In addition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who since Saturday has insisted on associating Ukraine with Friday’s attack on the Crocus City Hall, in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow; and the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), which also implicated Washington and London, today Russian diplomacy discredited Daesh’s solo responsibility for the massacre.

MNE spokeswoman Maria Zakharova considered, at the weekly press conference, that it was “extremely difficult to believe” that the Islamic State would have the capacity to carry out an attack on this scale in a concert hall in the Russian capital, thus contradicting the claim of the jihadist group itself and the guarantees of the intelligence services of the United States and France that IS is solely responsible, ruling out any involvement by Kiev.

Since Friday, Ukraine has vehemently rejected Russian accusations, denying any involvement in the attack. The head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, also considered Russian allegations about the involvement of Kiev and some of its Western allies “totally absurd”.

Russian state investigators announced this Wednesday that they will analyze a request from Parliament to investigate what they called “organization, financing and conduct of terrorist acts” against the Russian Federation by the United States and other Western countries, which increases speculation, profusely circulated in recent days about the alleged Ukrainian and Western involvement in the attack, even though no evidence has been provided.

143 are still missing

According to the Russian news agency TASS, which cites a statement, “Russia’s Investigative Committee has received 143 reports from victims who claim that their family members or loved ones have disappeared as a result of the terrorist attack.” In the same note, the Committee says it has already identified 84 bodies, including those of five children. “Molecular genetic tests are being carried out to establish the identities of the rest of the dead,” the Russian investigative body said.

According to the TASS agency, so far, 140 have been confirmed dead and 360 injured – 80 of them still remain in hospitals, including six children.

According to TASS, damage from the attack “could exceed 10 billion rubles ($108 million).” An insurance agent cited by the agency explains that “the actual damage was estimated at more than 10 billion rubles, but the value of the insured losses is not yet clear, as it could be much lower. The investigation and subsequent settlement process could take up to two years.”