After the terrorist attack on Friday (March 22) near Moscow, Russia, the Kremlin suspects that the arrested suspects had contacts in Ukraine. kyiv rejects the accusation.
The terrorist attack adds fuel to the fire of the Russian-Ukrainian war. After the attack which took place on Friday March 22 near Moscow, Russia announced the arrest of eleven individuals, “including four terrorists directly involved in the attack”, according to Russian news agencies, reports Ouest- France. The suspects have “contacts” in Ukraine, according to Russian security services.
“After committing the terrorist attack, the criminals planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and had appropriate contacts on the Ukrainian side,” the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) said, adding that the suspected attackers were also arrested in a border region. Comments echoed by Russian President Vladymyr Putin this Saturday, March 23, during a televised speech. “According to preliminary data (from investigators), a window had been prepared for them to cross the border,” he accused before assuring that “those behind these terrorists will be punished” and that they “ will not have an enviable destiny”, relays Ouest-France.
Ukraine strongly rejects these accusations. “We expected that the version of Russian officials would be the Ukrainian lead,” confided Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhaïlo Podoliak on X. “The statements of the Russian special services concerning Ukraine are absolutely untenable and absurd . […] Ukraine has not the slightest connection with the incident,” he added.
The investigation opened Friday evening by the Russian services continues. Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said the organization was ready to support Russian investigators in their investigations after the attack.
Before the attack was claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State, Ukraine had made a point of denying any involvement, recalls the French daily. The country had been the victim, that very morning, of one of the most significant Russian strikes since the start of the war. By the afternoon of Friday, March 22, for the first time, the Kremlin spokesperson agreed that Russia was “in a state of war.”