00:00Ukrainian intelligence services were involved in the deadly terrorist attack at the Krokus
00:28City Hall concert venue outside Moscow in March, according to Alexander Votnikov, director
00:34of Russia's Federal Security Service, that is, FSB.
00:38Votnikov made the statement during a virtual meeting of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee,
00:43that is, NAC, on Tuesday.
00:46The Ukrainian and Western intelligence services are expanding the circle of possible perpetrators
00:52recruited to commit high-profile crimes inside Russia, Votnikov said.
00:56He further alleged that Klimt and its foreign backers are also assisting international terrorist
01:01organizations which train and equip those individuals.
01:07Votnikov highlighted the Krokus City Hall attack as a clear example of such activities.
01:12The involvement of Ukrainian military intelligence in the terrorist attack at Krokus City Hall
01:16near Moscow has been established by us, he emphasized.
01:21The March 22 attack on the concert venue claimed 145 lives and left over 550 injured.
01:27Four gunmen stormed the building ahead of the Krokus concert, indiscriminately shooting
01:31attendees before setting the venue on fire.
01:34The suspected perpetrators, all citizens of Tajikistan, were detained shortly after the
01:39attack while attempting to flee towards the Ukrainian border.
01:43Nearly a dozen of their accomplices have since been arrested.
01:48A terrorist organization known as Islamic State Khurasan, that is, ISIS-K, claimed responsibility
01:53for the attack.
01:54However, Moscow has suggested that Kyiv used the Islamist group as a proxy.
01:59Ukraine has denied any involvement, while Western sources have insisted that all evidence
02:03points to ISIS-K as the sole culprit.
02:06Since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russian authorities have
02:11prevented 134 terrorist and sabotage acts in Central Russia, Botnikov reported.
02:18He added that Russian security agencies have intercepted the activities of 32 international
02:24terrorist cells primarily composed of migrants from Central Asia and thwarted planned attacks
02:30on key infrastructure and areas of mass gatherings.
02:34Botnikov's comments underscored the escalating tensions and complex security challenges facing
02:40Russia amid its ongoing conflict with Ukraine and rising terrorist threats.
Comments