The Kremlin is trying not to let the idea take hold that Vladimir Putin is a cold-hearted leader. A message was therefore sent on Saturday: the Russian president, who has not yet attended any ceremony paying tribute to the victims of the attack near Moscow, nor visited the families or the injured, nevertheless feels sadness. penalty.
“The head of state feels personally and fully concerned by this type of tragedy. Believe me, even if you don’t see tears on his face, that doesn’t mean he’s not suffering,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a short interview. “It’s unlikely that anyone knows and understands what he’s going through, including you and me,” he added.
At least 144 dead
On March 22, gunmen entered Crocus City Hall, a large concert hall near Moscow, before shooting into the crowd and setting the building on fire. According to the latest report from Russian rescuers, at least 144 people were killed and 551 injured during this attack claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State, the deadliest attack in the last twenty years in Russia.
After the tragedy, the Russian president waited until the next day to speak publicly and the Kremlin indicated on Thursday that he had not immediately planned to meet the families of the victims, nor to go to the scene of the tragedy. attack.
Moscow implies kyiv’s involvement
The Russian president only admitted on Monday that the attack had been committed by “radical Islamists”, but Russian authorities accused Ukraine and its Western allies, who strongly deny it, of having “facilitated” it.
On Saturday, Western diplomats, notably American and European, as well as from African and Latin American countries, went to the site to lay flowers and observe a minute of silence, the Ria-Novosti agency reported.