The United States assured yesterday that Ukraine had no involvement in Friday’s attack on the outskirts of Moscow, after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the alleged perpetrators were trying to escape to that country.
According to the American vice-president, Kamala Harris, in a television interview, there is “no proof” of “Ukrainian involvement” in the massacre claimed by the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).
The spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, also stated in a statement that IS “bears full responsibility” for the attack and that “there was no Ukrainian involvement”.
Washington responds to Saturday’s speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who announced that “the four perpetrators” of the attack were arrested “while heading to Ukraine”, without mentioning the IS claim.
Ukrainian authorities have denied any involvement in the episode. The attack, which Russian media began reporting on Friday at around 8:15 pm in Moscow, was carried out by several armed individuals at Crocus City Hall, a concert hall located in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of the Russian capital. .
IS claims that the attack took place in the context of the “violent war” between the group and “countries that fight against Islam”.
On Saturday night, IS released a video allegedly made by the perpetrators of the massacre, inside the Moscow concert hall.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the arrest of eleven individuals allegedly linked to the attack, including the four terrorists who directly carried out the attack.
The number of fatalities in the attack rose to 137, including three children, Russian investigators announced yesterday, noting that weapons and ammunition were found at the scene.
Russia yesterday experienced a day of national mourning for the victims. Since the beginning of the day, citizens have been taking flowers to the site of the attack, in the city of Krasnogorsk, with the Russian flags at all state institutions at half mast.