Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has blasted a recent Bloomberg article calling it the “mother of all fakes”.
The report in question claimed that some people in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own inner circle don't believe Ukraine was involved in the deadly terrorist attack at the Crocus City concert hall.
On the evening of March 22, a group of armed gunmen attacked the music venue outside Moscow, killing more than 130 people and injuring at least 200.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg that “there’s no evidence of involvement by Ukraine, according to four people with close ties to the Kremlin.”
RT reports: It claimed that Putin was present at discussions “where officials agreed” that there is no link to Kiev, but “remains determined to use the tragedy to try to rally Russians behind the war in Ukraine.” Bloomberg cited “one person with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified” as their source.
(Putin has claimed that there could be a link to Ukraine, stating that the attack definitely served the interests of the Ukrainian government.)
Zakharova blasted the (Bloomberg) report, writing on Telegram on Tuesday: “A masterpiece of news. Just the mother of all fakes.”
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, had commented that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack. Bortnikov also pointed to the potential role of the US and UK.
A group calling itself Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has taken responsibility for the massacre. The US and EU insist that no one else could be to blame, denying that Ukraine had anything to do with the act of terrorism. Over the weekend, the Russian authorities arrested several suspects, including four directly involved in the attack.
The latter, all of whom are nationals of Tajikistan, attempted to escape by car. The FSB head said it is currently believed that they were expected in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian side may have been preparing to open a “window” to allow them to cross the border.
Niamh Harris
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