Kyiv rebuffs Putin's claims that gunmen who killed 133 Russian concertgoers had links to Ukraine
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Rebecca Rommen
Mar 25, 2024, 15:57 IST
L: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his press conference at his campaign headquarters in March, 2024, in Moscow, Russia. R: A view of the damage at Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, Russia after a terrorist attack on March 23, 2024. Anadolu/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin linked Moscow concert hall attackers to Ukraine.
At least 133 people were killed by gunmen, and 11 have suspects been detained, say Russian sources.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the gunmen who attacked a Moscow concert hall and killed 133 people had links to Ukraine, an allegation Kyiv completely rejected.
"They tried to escape and were moving toward Ukraine, where, according to preliminary information, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin said.
Putin alleged the connection when he broke his silence on the attack 20 hours after at least four gunmen infiltrated Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of the Russian capital.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had earlier claimed a link between Ukraine and the gunmen in a statement, said Russian news agency TASS.
"The terrorists planned to cross the border and had contacts on the Ukrainian side," the message read.
According to Russia's Investigative Committee: "The death toll will rise further. According to preliminary data, the causes of death were gunshot wounds and poisoning by combustion products."
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ISIS-K, one of the most active regional affiliates of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The militant group previously hit the headlines for orchestrating the suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that killed 13 US military soldiers and 169 civilians in 2021.
Putin called on international cooperation to address terrorism.
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