Putin condemns the barbaric terrorist act in Moscow and declares Sunday a day of national mourning

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday condemned the attack on a concert hall in a Moscow suburb, which was claimed by ISIS and resulted in the death of at least 115 people, saying it was a “barbaric act of terrorism,” while Ukraine denied its involvement after Russian accusations in This trend.

“I am speaking to you today about the bloody, barbaric terrorist act that claimed the lives of dozens of innocent, peaceful people… I declare March 24 a day of national mourning,” the Russian President said in a televised address to the nation on Saturday.

He added, “The four perpetrators of the terrorist act who opened fire and killed people were arrested… They were heading towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary information, they had a border crossing window,” noting that “terrorists, murderers, and inhumans will face an unenviable fate”.

The Russian authorities didn’t comment on ISIS’s claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials indicated a link between Ukraine and its perpetrators.

Kiev, which denied any involvement in the attack on Friday evening, rejected the Russian accusations on Saturday, which presidential advisor Mykhailo Podoliak described as ridiculous, stressing that “Ukraine has no connection to the incident”.

The Russian president spoke with foreign leaders and thanked rescue workers in a written statement on Friday after the attack on Crocus City Hall, the deadliest in nearly two decades and the deadliest in Europe, claimed by the Islamic State since the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris.

The Russian Investigative Committee announced earlier on Saturday the arrest of 11 people, including the four attackers who carried out the attack, in the Bryansk region, located on the border with Ukraine and Belarus.

Russian security services confirmed on Saturday that the suspects had contacts in Ukraine to where they intended to flee, without providing any evidence of these supposed connections, the nature of which wasn’t specified.

Representative Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Defense Committee in the State Duma, said that Ukrainian involvement isn’t excluded.

The death toll from the attack rose to 133 people, according to what the Russian authorities announced on Saturday, indicating that the number will likely continue to rise.

The investigation committee explained via Telegram that some people died from gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation after the building caught fire.

It previously indicated that the attackers suspected of carrying out the attack used automatic weapons and ignited the building with a flammable liquid.

The attack, which Russian media began reporting around 8:15 pm (17.15 GMT), was carried out by a number of gunmen in Crocus City Hall, a concert hall located in Krasnogorsk at the northwestern exit of the capital.

Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov explained that the fire completely destroyed the concert hall.

The US Embassy in Russia warned its citizens two weeks ago that “extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts”.

But the Russian President rejected these statements, which he considered provocative and said, “All of this seems like pure blackmail and a desire to intimidate and destabilize our society”.

Although ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, many questions remain to be answered.

According to Russian media and MP Alexander Khinstin, some of the suspects are from Tajikistan.

The authorities of Tajikistan, located in Central Asia, explained that they haven’t received confirmations from the Russian authorities regarding the false information currently circulating about the involvement of citizens from Tajikistan in the attack.

Since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Tajikistan has faced many armed Islamic movements.

In recent years, Tajik citizens have been accused of involvement in jihadist attacks, especially in Iran.

On Saturday, members of the police and special forces were still deployed outside the hall, the upper part of which had become charred and partially destroyed due to the fire that had engulfed it the day before.

Hundreds of rescue personnel were working to remove the rubble, a task that the governor of the Moscow region announced on Saturday would take several days.

Since the morning, long queues have been lined up in front of some blood donation centers in Moscow, as photos published by government media showed.

This attack sparked condemnations from the international community, which expressed its unity with the Russian people.

In Russia, security measures were tightened and many public events were cancelled.