Moscow attack: Putin admits it was the work of Islamists, but accuses Ukraine and the West of involvement

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged this Monday that last Friday’s attack on a concert hall in Moscow, where more than 130 people died, claimed by the ISIS k group, The attack was committed by “radical Islamists” but he mentioned it again they could have relationship with Ukraine.

This Tuesday the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bórtnikov, went further and accused Ukraine of having participated “directly” and involving the West in the attack.

“We believe that the act was prepared by radical Islamists and, of course, Western intelligence services contributed to this“Bórtnikov told local agencies, adding that the Ukrainian secret services had a “direct relationship” with the attack.

He then admitted that Moscow has not yet managed to establish with certainty the identity of those who instigated the attack and that all the information available to the security services is of a “general nature”.

“In general we believe that they are involved in this,” he stressed when answering the question about Kiev’s responsibility.

He stressed that the FSB knows that “the Ukrainian side participated in education and training of fighters in the Middle East”.

“The bandits intended to escape across the border. Right into the territory of Ukraine. According to our preliminary operational data, they were waiting for them there (…) And I’ll tell you a secret: on the other hand they wanted to receive them as heroes“He explained.

Advocated declaring Ukraine’s Security Service a “terrorist organization” (SBU) and considered “legitimate objective” the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirilo Budánov.

Bortnikov admitted that the United States warned them of a possible terrorist attack in Moscowbut added that he would have preferred the information “to be more specific.”

He recalled that the same thing happened in 2017, when a suicide attack killed 16 people in the St. Petersburg subway.

The head of the FSB made these statements after Putin suggested on Monday the existence of the Ukrainian black hand in the attack, despite the fact that the attack it was immediately claimed by ISIS.

“And the Nazis, as is known, never had any qualms about using the dirtiest and most inhumane means to achieve their goals,” he said during a meeting with members of the government and security forces broadcast live on television. Russia accuses Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s government of being “Nazi”, even though he is Jewish.

Putin refused to accept it at face value the hypothesis put forward by Western secret services that the attack was the work of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISPK).

Both the United States and the European Union have urged the Kremlin to do so exclude Ukraine’s participation as a hypothesis in Friday’s terrorist attack.

Moscow’s Basmanni court on Tuesday ruled two months’ preventive detention for an eighth suspect involved in the terrorist attack.

This is Alisher Kasimov, 32 years old, a Russian citizen of Kyrgyz origin who, according to investigations, He rented his apartment to the alleged perpetrators of the massacre.

According to the latest official data, the attack in the city of Krasnogorsk, about 20 kilometers north-west of the center of Moscow, left at least 139 dead and 182 injured.