The head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said last week that he believed that Ukraine, Great Britain, and the United States were involved in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall outside of Moscow that killed over 130 people, Reuters reported.
In a March 26 interview on Russian state television, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said while the attack was carried out by Islamic radicals, it was “facilitated by Western special services.”
Bornikov said Ukraine’s special services were “directly related” to the attack and Kyiv helped “prepare Islamist radicals at an unidentified location in the Middle East.”
Bornikov’s claims echoed those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who acknowledged that the attack was carried out by Islamic radicals but suggested that Ukraine may have had a hand in the attack.
During a March 25 video conference with Kremlin officials, Putin noted that the terrorists attempted to flee to Ukraine after the attack and asked why they would and who would be waiting for them.
He said while it was clear that Kyiv did not “want to be accomplices” or “sponsors” of terror, there were “a lot of questions.”
Putin said Moscow knew who committed the “atrocity” against the Russian people but added that the Kremlin was also interested in who instigated the attack.
Kyiv has repeatedly denied any involvement in the March 22 attack and dismissed Moscow’s allegations.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s senior aide Mykhailo Podolyak called Moscow’s allegations “lies.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron dismissed Bornikov’s allegations, saying in a post on X that the claims that Ukraine and the West facilitated the attack were “utter nonsense.”
Cameron said the UK supported the US intelligence assessment confirming that Islamic State was behind the attack.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson confirmed that the United States shared intelligence with the Russians about a possible terrorist attack by the Islamic State but Moscow ignored it.
