Russia Says Moscow Terrorist Attack Has Connection to ‘Ukrainian Nationalists’

 

The Russian Investigative Committee says it has evidence the gunmen received money that was traced back to Ukraine

by Dave DeCamp March 28, 2024 at 2:51 pm ET 

CategoriesNewsTagsRussia, Ukraine

Russian investigators said Thursday that they found evidence connecting the terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow to “Ukrainian nationalists.”

“Investigators have verified information that large amounts of money and cryptocurrency that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack received trace back to Ukraine; the funds were used in preparing the crime,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

“Investigators’ work with the detained terrorists, the examination of technical equipment that was seized from them, and the analysis of information about financial transactions prove their connection to Ukrainian nationalists,” the statement added.

The ISIS affiliate based in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State – Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, has taken credit for the shooting at Crocus City Hall, which killed over 140 people. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said “radical Islamists” carried out the attack but also suggested there was a link to Ukraine.

The US said from the very beginning that the attack was carried out by ISIS-K and dismissed the idea that Ukraine was involved. In response to the Russian Investigative Committee statement, the White House accused the Russians of being “manure salesman.”

“My uncle used to say… that the best manure salesmen often carry their samples in their mouths. Russian officials seem to be pretty good manure salesmen,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. He added that the statement was “nonsense propaganda.”

On Tuesday, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Aleksandr Bortnikov said he believed that Ukraine, the US, and the UK may have been involved in the terrorist attack.

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/03/28/russia-says-moscow-terrorist-attack-has-connection-to-ukrainian-nationalists/