Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his nation in a televised address Saturday that 11 people had been detained in connection with Friday’s deadly attack on a popular Moscow concert venue, including the four gunmen who had opened fire, killing at least 133.
Putin claimed the assailants had been trying to escape via Ukraine, “where according to preliminary data, a window for them to cross the state border was prepared by the Ukrainian side. “However, Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement.
Late Friday, gunmen armed with automatic weapons attacked the Crocus City Hall, a massive shopping and entertainment venue on the outskirts of Moscow and set the concert hall alight, following U.S. government warnings this month about a “planned terrorist attack” in the Russian capital.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said more bodies were found at the site on Saturday, adding that the death toll was expected to rise, with 16 of the 107 hospitalized victims in a grave condition and 44 in a serious condition.
Putin called the attack a planned and organized mass murder of innocent and defenseless people, and he promised swift retaliation. “The criminals in cold blood, purposefully went to kill and shoot at point-blank range our citizens and our children, as the Nazis did who committed massacres in the occupied territories.
They planned to stage a demonstrative execution, a bloody act of intimidation,” he said.
“All perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of this crime will be fairly and unavoidably punished, whoever they are or whoever directs them.” The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Friday night attack; already, one of the most deadly in modern Russian history, which left about 140,000 square feet of the venue in Krasnogorsk in flames, according to Russia’s emergency services.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said that the United States had “no reason to doubt” the claim from the Islamic State. The Investigative Committee said that the preliminary causes of death were gunshot wounds and inhalation of fumes.
The committee said investigations were continuing at the venue. By Saturday afternoon, the Ministry of Health had identified 41 of the victims, predominantly people aged between 30 and 60 years old.
Baza, a Telegram channel with ties to Russian security services, reported that 28 bodies were found in one of the venue’s bathrooms, which included “many mothers” clasping their children, while a further 14 were discovered in an emergency exit stairwell.
The attack which indicated Russia’s continued vulnerability to terrorist attacks, came just days after Russian President Putin’s victory in a highly orchestrated election, which solidified his power as his war in Ukraine drags into its third year.
Putin’s speech was his first public statement after the attack. Before that, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Tatyana Golikova said that the president “wished everyone recovery” and thanked the doctors Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that President Putin spoke to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko by phone and the two leaders “reiterated their readiness to cooperate in countering terrorism.”
The U.S. government issued a public advisory to Americans in Russia on March 7 that described the risk of a “planned terrorist attack in Moscow, potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement on Friday.
“The U.S. Government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its long-standing ‘duty to warn’ policy,” Watson said.
The warning was based in part on intelligence reporting about possible activity inside Russia from Islamic State-Khorasan, the Afghanistan and Pakistan arm of the Islamic State, two U.S. officials who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, even as other Western embassies echoed the warning.
