Screenshot / Fox News, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

On Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement on the terrorist attack at a concert venue complex near Moscow, saying that the United States “strongly condemns” the attack.

Jean-Pierre also commented on ISIS, the alleged perpetrators of the attack, calling them a “common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones and to those who were injured or affected by these unconscionable attacks against innocent civilians,” she said in a statement issued by the White House. “ISIS is a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.”

The White House’s response comes as the death toll from the attack rises to 133, according to the nation’s top state investigative agency, with authorities saying they have apprehended 11 suspects, four of whom were reported to be directly involved in the onslaught.

On Saturday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation in a televised broadcast, slamming the massacre as “a bloody, barbaric terrorist act,” and declaring Sun., March 24, a day of mourning. He added that additional security measures have been put in place following the attack.

“All four direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack, all those who shot and killed people, were found and detained,” Putin said. “They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.”

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, and the U.S. has said they have evidence confirming such. However, Putin has suggested that Ukraine is responsible, and some Russian officials have questioned if the United States may have been involved. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied any involvement by his nation.

“Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting/explosions in the Crocus City Hall (Moscow Region, Russia). It makes no sense whatsoever,” he said on social media, adding, in part, “there is not the slightest doubt that the events in the Moscow suburbs will contribute to a sharp increase in military propaganda, accelerated militarization, expanded mobilization, and, ultimately, the scaling up of the war. And also to justify manifest genocidal strikes against the civilian population of Ukraine.” 

Earlier in March, U.S. intelligence uncovered evidence that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, a branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow. It is unclear how much information the U.S. gave Russian officials.

On Friday evening, gunmen in combat gear burst into Crocus City Hall in the city of Krasnogorsk, where concertgoers were gathering to hear the Russian band Picnic. Video online showed gunmen opening fire, shooting attendees at close range and setting off smoke bombs. 

The gunmen also threw explosives inside the concert hall during the attack, rocking the building and setting it on fire, Russian media reported. The fire raged through the night and the roof of the theater collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning, while firefighters fought the flames.

Putin said that the Federal Security Service of Russia and other law enforcement agencies are working to identify the entire terrorist support base.

“Those who provided them with transport, planned escape routes from the crime scene, prepared caches, caches of weapons and ammunition,” Putin said. “It is already obvious that we are faced not just with a carefully and cynically planned terrorist attack, but with the organized mass murder of peaceful, defenseless people. The criminals were cold-blooded and purposefully going to kill, shoot our citizens at point-blank range — our children.”