Assailants still wanted, Ukraine accuses “Russian special services”

Five men from Ingushetia, this small republic in the Caucasus wedged between Chechnya and Russia. But no official confirmation from the Russian authorities.

According to a journalist from the public press agency Ria Novosti present on site, individuals in camouflage outfits burst onto the floor of the concert hall before opening fire and throwing “a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which which caused a fire.

The fire spread to nearly 13,000m2 of the building, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations cited by Russian agencies.

“The people in the room lay on the ground to protect themselves from the gunfire for 15 to 20 minutes, after which they started crawling out. Many managed to get out,” said this Ria Novosti journalist.

What a nightmare for Crocus. Condolences to the families of the victims and congratulations to the injured. Everyone involved in this crime must be found and held accountable.

Ukrainian military intelligence accused the Kremlin and its special services of orchestrating Friday evening’s deadly attack near Moscow to blame Ukraine and justify an “escalation” of the war.

“The terrorist attack in Moscow was a planned and deliberate provocation by Russian special services on the orders of (Vladimir) Putin. Its objective is to justify even harsher strikes against Ukraine and total mobilization in Russia,” assured the GUR, estimating that the attack “must be understood as a threat from Putin to provoke escalation and extend the war “.

Russian law enforcement officials said they were “looking for” the attackers responsible for the armed attack and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow on Friday, which left at least forty dead.

“Special units of the Russian National Guard are working at the site of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. They are looking for criminals and evacuating citizens from the building,” the National Guard, Rosgvardia, said on its Telegram account.

“From the first minutes of the incident at Crocus City Hall, the president was informed of the start of the shooting. The president is constantly informed by all relevant services about what is happening and the measures taken,” said Mr. Peskov, presidential spokesperson, quoted by Russian news agencies.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assured Friday that Russia will “destroy” Ukrainian leaders if it turns out that they are responsible for the deadly attack on a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow.

“If it is established that they are terrorists of the kyiv regime… they must all be found and mercilessly destroyed as terrorists. Including the leaders of the state which committed such an atrocity,” Mr. Medvedev, also number two on the Russian Security Council, said on Telegram.

On March 8, the American embassy in the Russian capital warned the authorities that “extremist groups” were preparing an imminent attack on Moscowhours after Russian security services foiled a mass killing in a synagogue.

The American embassy had asked its nationals to leave the country immediately, advising them to avoid concerts and gathering places.

The Freedom Legion of Russia, a group of Russian anti-Kremlin fighters based in Ukraine, has denied any involvement in Friday’s deadly armed attack at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow.

“ We emphasize that the Legion does not fight Russian civilians,” said this group, which blames “Putin’s terrorist regime.” »

According to local media, 6,200 tickets were sold for the Picnik group’s concert, in a hall which can accommodate up to 9,500 people.

Ukraine “has absolutely nothing to do” with the shooting which left at least 40 dead and more than 100 injured in Moscow on Friday, according to a provisional report, declared an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Mykhaïlo Podoliak, describing it as “terrorist act”

“Let’s be clear, Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do with these events,” Mr. Podoliak, whose country has been fighting a Russian invasion for two years, assured on Telegram.

“I strongly condemn such acts of violence and brutality against civilians,” the president of Chechnya said in a statement. For her part, the spokesperson for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, asks the international community to “condemn this heinous crime”.

The White House “has no indication at this stage that Ukraine or Ukrainians are involved” in the attack on a Moscow concert hall, a spokesperson said Friday.

“I would advise against, at this early stage, making a connection with Ukraine,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

This is obviously a provisional assessment, which risks increasing in the hours to come. Source FSB, the federal security service of the Russian Federation.

In numerous still unauthenticated videos, we can see several men armed with rifles opening fire on the crowd of a theater at Crocus City Hall, a concert hall in the west of the capital.

Russian investigators opened an investigation on Friday for a “terrorist act” into the deadly shooting and fire perpetrated by armed men in a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow.

“The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case for a terrorist act in the Moscow region,” this body responsible for the main criminal investigations in the country said on Telegram.