Information
Two senior Russian intelligence officials have implicated either Ukrainian, US, or UK involvement in the recent attack on a concert hall near Moscow, which resulted in the death of at least 139 people and injured 180 others. Despite their assertions, no evidence was provided to support these claims. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko further complicated matters by suggesting that the attackers initially attempted to cross into Belarus, contradicting the notion that they were fleeing to Ukraine. The Islamic State’s offshoot, ISIS-K, has claimed responsibility for the attack through propaganda channels, although French President Emmanuel Macron urged Russia not to attribute blame to Ukraine, citing intelligence suggesting ISIS-K’s involvement, a sentiment echoed by US officials.
Nikolai Patrushev, Russia’s Security Council secretary, and Alexander Bortnikov, director of the FSB domestic intelligence agency, reiterated allegations of Ukrainian involvement without presenting evidence. Bortnikov speculated that the attack was facilitated by both radical Islamists and Western special services, with direct ties to Ukraine’s special services. President Vladimir Putin echoed these sentiments, questioning who ordered the attack and emphasising the complexity of the situation, including Russia’s purportedly sympathetic stance toward Palestinians compared to the West’s during the conflict in Gaza. Despite these claims, concrete evidence linking Ukraine or Western powers to the attack remains absent.
Source: AFP, dpa, Reuters
Assessment
This is a standard tactic from the Russian government, blaming the West for internal failings. It appears unacceptable to the Russian leadership that they would be capable of pulling off such an attack, so they turn to the convenient enemy of Ukraine and the West. Regardless of whether the conspiracy regarding the FSB is true, it appears almost certain that Russia will put this all on Ukraine and possibly use it to conduct further mobilisations.
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