US intelligence agencies did not share all information with Moscow about preparations for a terrorist attack in Russia because of fears that Russian authorities might recognise US sources and their intelligence methods, The New York Times reports.
The CIA relayed the warning to Russia a day before the American embassy in Moscow issued its warning about a possible terrorist attack. The message mentioned an additional detail – an IS offshoot known as Wilayat Khorasan is involved in the attack.
However, Vladimir Putin called the warning “outright blackmail” and attempts to “intimidate and destabilise society”. Aleksandr Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), emphasised in public comments on Tuesday that the information provided by the US was “of a general nature”. He said:
We reacted to this information, of course, and took appropriate measures.
Bortnikov noted that the actions taken by the FSB to investigate this information did not confirm it.
One of the reasons for the FSB’s failure in preventing the terrorist attack at Crocus was the high level of distrust both within the agency itself and in its interaction with intelligence agencies of other countries.
Strained relations between Washington and Moscow prevented US officials from sharing information about the attack beyond what was necessary, fearing that Russian authorities might learn about their intelligence sources or methods.
In its 7 March public warning, the US Embassy said the risk of an attack on concert venues in Moscow was acute over the next 48 hours. It is unclear whether US intelligence got the timing of the attack wrong or whether the extremists postponed their plan after seeing increased security measures.
In the following days, internal Russian intelligence reports that reached Russia’s National Security Council specifically warned of the threat that Tajiks radicalised by ISIS-K posed to Russia. The report pointed to Tajik involvement in thwarted plots in Europe and terrorist attacks in Iran and Istanbul in recent months. The report did not mention Western warnings or a possible attack by Moscow.
On the night of Friday, 22 March, gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow region and killed at least 143 people, in the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia in nearly two decades.
