Wednesday, 27 March 2024

Russia Deems US Position on Probe Into Crocus Terrorist Attack as 'Biased' - Foreign Ministry

Russia Deems US Position on Probe Into Crocus Terrorist Attack as 'Biased' - Foreign Ministry

Russia Deems US Position on Probe Into Crocus Terrorist Attack as 'Biased' - Foreign Ministry





©Sputnik/Russian Foreign Ministry/Go to the mediabank






Russia considers the position of the United States on the investigation into the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow as "biased," Washington is trying to "put Ukraine out of harm's way," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.







On Tuesday, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov said the first information received from suspects in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack proved a Ukrainian trace. He added that, while radical Islamists had prepared the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall, the Ukrainian special forces were involved. The Western intelligence and Ukraine needed the attack to create panic in Russian society, Bortnikov also said, adding that the mastermind behind the terrorist attack has not been identified yet.


"They exposed themselves. They also started screaming, not calling for an investigation, but began to put Ukraine out of harm's way. Their bias and involvement in this story are obvious. If it had not been there, the first statements would have been what they should have been, namely about the need for investigation, probe, presentation of facts," Zakharova stressed.


A shooting occurred last Friday in the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, just outside Moscow, followed by a massive fire. A Sputnik correspondent who witnessed the attack reported that a number of gunmen in camouflage broke into the music hall, shooting people point-blank and throwing incendiary bombs. The Russian Investigative Committee said that at least 139 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attack.


White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said last Friday that there were no indications pointing to the involvement of Ukraine or Ukrainian nationals in the attack on the Crocus City Hall.



Moscow slams ‘mother of all fakes’



A recent Bloomberg article claiming that some people in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own inner circle do not believe Ukraine was involved in the terrorist attack at the Crocus City concert hall is the “mother of all fakes,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.


FILE PHOTO
©Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich


On the evening of March 22, a group of armed gunmen attacked the Crocus City Hall venue outside Moscow. Over 130 people died and another 200 were injured.


The news agency wrote on Tuesday that “there’s no evidence of involvement by Ukraine, according to four people with close ties to the Kremlin.


It claimed that Putin was present at discussions “where officials agreed” that there is no link to Kiev, but “remains determined to use the tragedy to try to rally Russians behind the war in Ukraine.” Bloomberg cited “one person with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified” as their source.


Zakharova blasted the report, writing on Telegram on Tuesday: “A masterpiece of news. Just the mother of all fakes.”


Yes,Bloomberg is a media that blows up fake news for US interests.


Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, had commented that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack. Bortnikov also pointed to the potential role of the US and UK.


A group calling itself Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has taken responsibility for the massacre. The US and EU insist that no one else could be to blame, denying that Ukraine had anything to do with the act of terrorism. Over the weekend, the Russian authorities arrested several suspects, including four directly involved in the attack.


The latter, all of whom are nationals of Tajikistan, attempted to escape by car. The FSB head said it is currently believed that they were expected in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian side may have been preparing to open a “window” to allow them to cross the border.





















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