Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has said the Friday concert attack is a barbaric act of terrorism, vowing to punish the perpetrators.
He also accused Ukraine of preparing a “window” to help the suspects escape. Kyiv has staunchly denied any role in the attack.
He made these known in a public address he delivered on Saturday in Moscow, Russia’s capital.
Saturday PUNCH had reported how, on Friday, gunmen in camouflage clothing opened fire on people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.
Several Russian media outlets reported that automatic weapons were used in what many have termed ‘one of the worst such attacks in Russia in years.’
At least five gunmen were shown in unverified videos firing repeatedly at screaming civilians cowering in the concert hall as Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” was about to perform, according to Reuters.
Reacting, Putin, in a five-minute televised address, claimed that someone in Ukraine had tried to help the attackers escape across the border from Russia before they were apprehended by Russian security services.
He did not definitively pin the attack on Ukraine, nor did he refer to the assessment by American officials that a branch of the Islamic State was behind it.
However, he pledged to punish the perpetrators, “whoever they may be, whoever may have sent them.”
He said, “They were trying to hide and were moving toward Ukraine,” Mr. Putin said, referring to the four men who carried out the attack and who the Kremlin said had been captured in western Russia. “Based on preliminary information, a window for crossing the border was prepared for them by the Ukrainian side.”
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly denied having anything to do with the attack, and American officials have said there is no evidence of Ukrainian involvement.
American officials voiced concern on Friday that Putin could seek to falsely blame Ukraine for the attack, and some analysts and Kremlin critics have said that he could use such an accusation to justify another escalation in Russia’s invasion.
“We are counting here on cooperation with all countries that genuinely share our pain and are ready, in their deeds, to truly unite our efforts in the fight against the common enemy of international terrorism,” he added.
He declared Monday a national day of mourning and said that security measures were being tightened across Russia.
“The main thing now is to prevent those who were behind this bloody massacre from committing new crimes,” Putin added.
Meanwhile, Russia has arrested 11 people, including all four gunmen suspected of carrying out the attack, the head of the country’s Federal Security Service stated in a statement.
133 killed
At least 133 people are now known to have been killed as more bodies were found in the rubble, Russia’s Investigative Committee revealed on Saturday morning.
The Russian Investigative Committee said more bodies were found as emergency responders cleared the rubble from the fiery attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall. The search operation at the venue is still underway.
At least 107 individuals, including three kids, are presently in hospitals in Moscow with injuries, as per Tatyana Golikova, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government.
The most recent death toll officially marks the attack as one of the worst terrorist acts in Russia’s recent history, exceeding the casualty number of the hostage crisis at Moscow’s theater in Dubrovka in 2002 where 130 individuals died.
The number of people who have died is expected to increase as many individuals are reportedly trapped under the debris.
Additionally, earlier this month, US embassy officials issued a warning urging individuals to avoid large gatherings. They have reiterated this warning after confirming that no US citizen was injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, released a statement on Saturday denouncing the deadly terrorist attack in Moscow.
Furthermore, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, expressed condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday following a deadly shooting at a concert hall near Moscow, stating that China opposes all forms of terrorism and strongly condemns terrorist attacks.
Additionally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, in a personally signed statement, conveyed Nigeria’s deepest sympathy and condolences to the Russian president.
The statement said, “The government and people of Nigeria sympathize with the victims of this tragic attack and pray for the souls of the deceased. We also pray for the swift recovery of those injured.
“During this challenging time, we express our solidarity with the government and Russian Federation and send our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Russian president, His Excellency Vladimir Putin.”
