At least 40 dead and over 100 injured, including children. The terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, the largest concert hall in Moscow, shocks Russia and further raises tension at a crucial moment. The attack carried out by a commando of armed men was claimed by ISIS according to the Telegram channel of the Amaq agency, linked to the organisation, even if the certainties are not absolute.
Moscow, immediately after the attack, indirectly called Ukraine into question. There are no elements to accuse but clear messages are coming from high places: if Ukraine is responsible, it will pay. Kiev rejects everything and categorically denies involvement in the attack.
The attack
It's just after 7pm Italian time on March 22, 2024 when the first news arrives relating to a shooting. The tenor of the news changes rapidly as videos recorded inside the complex spread on Telegram.
A commando composed of at least 5 men, with automatic weapons and grenades, opens fire on civilians. In the Moscow evening, the concert hall is crowded with 6200 people, according to ticket data. In particular, a concert by the Pic Nic group is scheduled. The throwing of at least one grenade contributed to causing a fire that was put out only during the night in Moscow: the roof of the complex was devoured by flames.
Meanwhile the commando opens fire in the hall, breaking the glass doors. The videos also show panic in the concert hall, with the audience emptying amidst screams of panic and shots from automatic weapons. Hundreds of people leave the Crocus City Hall running through the streets of Moscow. Special forces, police and dozens of ambulances arrive on site. The injured are transferred to hospitals: according to the health authorities' bulletin, there are 9 in serious condition. 5 children are also hospitalized, one in danger of life.
The claim
ISIS, on Telegram, claims responsibility for the attack and states that those responsible for the action have returned safely to their bases. “Islamic State fighters attacked a large gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow, killing and wounding hundreds of people and causing major destruction at the site before retreating to their bases safely,” it said. in the message.
Special units of the Russian National Guard are working at the scene of the attack in search of those responsible for the attack.
Ukraine in Moscow's sights
The claim comes after statements made by leading figures in Russia. President Vladimir Putin, immediately informed, expressed himself through the words of the Kremlin spokesmanDmitri Peskov: “The president – says Peskov – is constantly informed by all the competent services of what is happening and the measures that have been adopted. The president has already given all the necessary instructions”.
The words of Dmitri Medvedev, vice president of the Security Council, are more explicit. Russia will respond ''to death with death''. And ''if it is established that terrorists from the Kiev regime are '' behind the attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, '' it is impossible to respond differently '', he says, pointing the finger at Kiev. ''Terrorists only understand terror as retaliation,'' says the former Russian president.
Along the same lines, the words of Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “As the heads of the services said, all the people involved will be identified by the special services”, she writes on Telegram. The declared reference is to the position expressed by the United States, which does not identify elements attributable to Ukrainian responsibility.
“There are reactions to what happened at Crocus that raise more questions. This certainly concerns the comments of Washington, which said it had seen no signs of Ukrainian involvement in the terrorist attack,” urges Zakharova.
“What drives Washington officials to draw conclusions in the midst of tragedy about someone's lack of involvement is a good question,” says Zakharova. “If the United States or any other country has reliable evidence in this regard, they should immediately share it with the Russian side. If there is no such evidence, then neither the White House nor anyone else is able to postulate someone's innocence” .
Ukraine: “We have nothing to do with it”
''Ukraine has nothing to do with the terrorist attack on Crocus'' City Hall in Moscow, says Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak.
Ukrainian military intelligence goes further, stating that the attack was a provocation organized by the Putin regimewhich the international community had anticipated.
“This is a conscious provocation by Putin's special services about which we were warned by the international community. The Kremlin tyrant began his career like this and now wants to end it in the same way: by committing crimes against his citizens”, says Andrii Yusov , representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, to Ukrainska Pravda. Yusov is referring to the alert for possible attacks issued two weeks ago by the American embassy in Moscow.
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