In an evening statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin and others of attempting to shift the blame for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow onto others. Zelensky criticized Putin for his silence in the aftermath of the incident and for his predictable attempt to associate the attack with Ukraine.
“What happened yesterday in Moscow is clear that Putin and other scum are just trying to pin it on someone else. They always use the same methods. This has already happened before. There were bombed buildings, shootings, and explosions. And they always blame others,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy highlighted the pattern of Russian aggression, from the invasion of Ukraine to the brutal treatment of its people, and how the Kremlin consistently tries to deflect responsibility. “They came to Ukraine, burning our cities – and trying to blame Ukraine. They torture and rape our people – and they blame them,” Zelenskyy stressed. “They drove hundreds of thousands of their terrorists here, to Ukrainian soil, fighting against us, and they don’t care what’s happening inside their own country. All this happened yesterday, and this absolute scum Putin, instead of dealing with his Russian citizens, addressing them, was silent for a day – thinking about how to pin this on Ukraine. It’s all entirely predictable.”
Moscow concert hall shooting a provocation by Putin’s FSB – Ukrainian Intel
He emphasized that the hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine could have been used to prevent such terrorist acts, questioning the priorities of Putin’s regime.
“Those hundreds of thousands of Russians who are now killing on Ukrainian soil would have been enough to stop any terrorists. And if the Russians are ready to silently die in the “crocuses” and not ask any questions of their special services, then Putin will try to turn more such situations to his personal power’s advantage,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
The attack at Crocus City Hall resulted in 133 deaths and 140 injuries. It is the deadliest in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004, which claimed 334 lives. Putin suggested that the suspects had been given a “window” to cross the border from Ukraine.
Ukrainian intelligence has dismissed any involvement in the attack, and the White House has stated it sees no evidence linking Ukraine to the incident. US confirmed ISIS was behind the attack. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as their “most brutal attack in recent years.”
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense labeled the attack a deliberate provocation by Putin’s regime, a claim supported by the lack of evidence implicating Ukraine.
Russian Investigative Committee: Death toll from terrorist attack near Moscow rises to 115 – UPDATED
“This is a deliberate provocation by Putin’s special services, which the international community had warned about. The Kremlin tyrant started his career with this, and he wants to end it with similar crimes against his own citizens,” Andriy Yusov, representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said in a comment to Ukrainian media outlet “Ukrainska Pravda”.
On the night of 22 March, a violent attack took place at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the suburbs of Moscow, during a performance by the Russian rock band, Picnic. Individuals dressed in camouflage initiated a deadly assault on the audience using automatic firearms and Molotov cocktails, igniting a blaze. The concert was sold out, with the potential for up to 7,200 attendees present in the venue. The structure’s roof had caved in.
Russia faced deadly terror attacks in the early 2000s during the Chechen war. Critics of Putin’s regime claim that the FSB could have orchestrated the terrorist attacks.
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