Russian state media strongly blamed Ukraine and the West for the attack on the Crocus City Hall, the BBC reported.
Independent experts argue that the state security services have been distracted by the war in Ukraine and missed the chance to prevent the attack in the Moscow Region. State television hosts and popular bloggers questioned whether the Islamic State (IS) group was behind the attack in the Crocus City Hall, calling it a “Western version” of the events, which was also noted by TV host Dmitry Kiselyov.
“There are already attempts to have everyone chasing down the wrong lead. IS has different hallmarks. Acts of terror in the name of IS are perpetrated by suicide attackers who do not try to flee afterwards. It is an indisputable fact that the terrorists sought salvation in Ukraine, which is where they headed after committing the crime.”
The Islamic State group reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack by publishing footage from the attackers’ points of view. However, the Russian Channel One disputed that information.
It is unclear why this bloodless group of radical Islamists decided to carry out this attack. The explanations of American experts seem forced, as if tailoring a solution to a ready-made answer.
Several newspapers claim that the attackers’ guns in yellow-green camouflage “are very similar to the weapons that traitors from the Russian Volunteer Corps [fighting on the side of Ukraine] use”.
On 22 March, a group of armed men broke into the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, where a musical concert by the Picnic rock band was taking place. The terrorist attack reportedly killed 133 people and injured 152.
