MOSCOW: Russia said Thursday the perpetrators of last week’s devastating attack at a Moscow concert hall that left more than 140 people dead had received heavy financial support from Ukraine.
The Investigative Committee, a prominent law enforcement body, stated that the perpetrators had obtained significant sums of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, which were allegedly utilized in planning the terrorist act. “As a result of work with the detained terrorists, an examination of technical devices seized from them and analysis of financial transactions, evidence of their links with Ukrainian nationalists has been obtained,” Russia’s Investigative Committee, which is investigating the attack, said in a statement.
Furthermore, Russia disclosed that a suspect accused of aiding in financing the attackers has been apprehended. The Investigative Committee intends to seek the remand of the suspect in custody pending further investigation.
Earlier assertions from Russian authorities claimed evidence linking the assailants to “Ukrainian nationalists.” However, the Investigative Committee has yet to present the specific evidence supporting this claim.
In response to these allegations, Ukraine vehemently denied any involvement in the attack, categorically refuting the accusations leveled against it by Russian officials.
Senior Russian Security Official Blames Ukraine for Moscow Attack
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior Russian security official laid the blame on Ukraine for orchestrating the attack on a Moscow concert hall. The accusation from the secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council Nikolai Patrushev comes after ISIS said it was behind the attack – the most deadly on Russian territory in over two decades.
“Of course, Ukraine,” said Patrushev, answering a question on whether Kyiv or ISIS, which claimed responsibility, was behind Friday’s attack.
Despite the claims from the group and assertions from US intelligence, Moscow has sought to divert blame for the tragedy onto Kyiv, which has vehemently denied any link to the attackers.
President Vladimir Putin on Monday acknowledged for the first time that “radical Islamists” were behind last week’s attack, but also suggested they were linked to Ukraine.
“Of course, it is necessary to answer the question, why, after committing the crime, the terrorists tried to go to Ukraine? Who was waiting for them there?” he added.
Without providing any evidence, Putin connected the attack at Crocus City Hall to a series of incursions into Russian territory by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups, and said they were all part of efforts to “sow panic in our society.”
The concert hall massacre was a major blow for Putin just over a week after he claimed a new term after one-sided elections the Kremlin billed as an endorsement of his military operation against Ukraine.
According to analysis from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian authorities are leveraging the Moscow attack to intensify rhetoric against Ukraine and the West, aiming to bolster domestic support for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, Russian authorities are reportedly increasing legal pressure on migrant communities in response to the attack, as part of broader measures to address security concerns.
The attack at the concert hall, one of the deadliest incidents in Russia in two decades, has left at least 143 people confirmed dead, as per Russian officials.
