The head of the Russian FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, on Tuesday accused Ukraine and Western secret services of having facilitated the attack near Moscow which left 139 dead, although claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). This close friend of Vladimir Putin, however, assured that “the sponsor” had “not yet been identified”, four days after the deadliest attack on Russian soil in 20 years.
“The Ukrainian secret services themselves are directly involved”
“We believe that the action was prepared both by radical Islamists themselves and, of course, facilitated by Western secret services and that the Ukrainian secret services themselves are directly involved,” assured Alexander Bortnikov, quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency. “I think it is,” he insisted, responding to a question about whether Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom had orchestrated the attack. “This is general information, but there are already some elements,” he continued.
According to him, the suspects “intended to go” to Ukraine, with which Moscow has been in conflict since the Russian assault of February 2022, and “they should be welcomed as heroes on that side”. “We were waiting for them there,” he assured. However, he did not provide evidence to support his remarks. Earlier Tuesday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, when asked by journalists whether Kiev or ISIS was behind the attack, replied: “Of course it’s Ukraine.”
These assertions are in the same direction as the remarks of Monday by Vladimir Putin, who assured that it had been committed by “radical Islamists”, while continuing to imply a link with Ukraine. “Retaliatory measures will of course be implemented and this work is ongoing. All those who have anything to do with (the attack) (…) will be found and punished,” Alexander Bortnikov warned on Tuesday. Eleven people have been arrested by Russian law enforcement so far, including the four alleged attackers, all of whom have already been remanded in custody by a Moscow court, along with four other suspects.