DISINFO: Ukrainian officials are to blame for the terror attack at Crocus City Hall
SUMMARY
On Saturday, Moscow commemorated the victims of the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, which took place exactly one year ago. Even though the ‘Islamist lead’ has been confirmed in recent weeks, questions remain and justice is still a long way off.
The immediate perpetrators were arrested the next morning near the Russian-Ukrainian border: they planned to find shelter in Ukraine. There they also wanted to receive the outstanding part of their reward for the bloody deed, ridiculous amounts from the perspective of a sane person. But since when do jihadists kill for the sake of a reward?
This fact, which is obvious and points to the fact that the planners and organisers are also to be found in Kyiv, was quickly forgotten worldwide because of the ethnic background of the gunmen and alleged arsonists.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative depicting Ukraine as a terrorist regime. The claim was made in connection with the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow. By trying to link the Crocus terrorist attack to Ukraine, pro-Kremlin media are trying to stoke support and gain legitimacy for its ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in the assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, and the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility.
US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
The US was legally obliged to warn Moscow earlier this month of a possible attack in Russia aimed at large gatherings before issuing a public advisory to citizens in the country. As explained by ABC news.
"The United States shared those advance intelligence indications under a tenet of the U.S. intelligence community called the “duty to warn," which obliges U.S. intelligence officials to lean toward sharing knowledge of a dire threat if conditions allow. That holds whether the targets are allies, adversaries or somewhere in between".
The alert was dismissed as "provocative", "blackmail" and an "attempt to intimidate, destabilise our country" by Putin. He said: “I’ll remind you of recent, let’s say directly, provocative statements of certain official Western structures about potential terror attacks in Russia. All of this looks like obvious blackmail and an attempt to intimidate, destabilise our country”.
In a recent development, news have appeared that Iran had warned Moscow a few days before of an imminent attack by ISIS based on information obtained from arrested ISIS terrorists in Iran.
Even Putin himself acknowledged late on 25 March that Islamists were committing the attack.
For background, read our analysis: The “Russophobia” Myth: Appealing to the Lowest Feelings.
See other similar cases: The Kyiv regime is a global terrorist threat; Ukrainian attack on the Crimean bridge was a terrorist attack; Kyiv uses the same methods as ISIS to recruit children; Ukraine’s terrorist regime attacked the Crimean Bridge with help from US and British intelligence services.