Ambush on Putin in the Heart of Moscow
Attack on Moscow Reveals Kremlin Truth
Ambush on Putin in the heart of Moscow: After the attack on Crocus City Hall, President Vladimir Putin ignored the Islamic State’s claim and pointed the finger at Ukraine. Russia mourns and is shocked, commemorating the 137 victims and 180 injured from the Friday night attack on Crocus City Hall in the suburbs of Moscow. This disaster is the worst terrorist attack in the country’s history in over a decade. Immediately after the incident, a court in the capital ordered the arrest of four men accused of the massacre.
Meanwhile, just hours later, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, known as ISIS Khorasan, claimed responsibility for the attack through the Amaq news agency and released images and videos of it. However, despite substantial evidence against this group, which has also been confirmed by Western intelligence services, it seems that the Kremlin is focusing its attention on unsubstantiated Ukrainian responsibilities. This raises fears that Moscow wants to attribute the entire operation to Kyiv to justify escalating current conflicts and push Russians towards a new conscription campaign.
In addition to this concern, which has been reported by several observers today, is the fact that in Vladimir Putin’s speech to the nation, which was delivered several hours after the attack, the Russian President not only did not mention ISIS but also suggested the hypothesis of Kyiv’s complicity in the terrorist escape plan, a project that Russian authorities have thwarted.
The detained attackers, identified as citizens of Tajikistan, requested a translator because they did not know Russian. They were arrested in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine. They all confessed, and when they appeared in court, severe signs of violence and assault were clearly visible on their bodies.
Unanimous Condemnation
Peter Stano, the spokesperson for the European Union’s foreign policy, wrote on the social network X that almost all countries internationally condemned the attack on unarmed civilians unanimously, adding that the European Union is shocked and horrified. We sympathize with all Russian citizens affected by this incident. The US State Department also expressed condolences and sympathy, emphasizing
that there is currently no sign of Ukraine’s or Ukrainians’ involvement in this terrorist act, and the United States has never encouraged Ukraine to strike Russia from within and endanger civilian lives. The images of the horrific attack on innocent people in Crocus City Hall were very shocking.
Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Foreign Minister, also wrote on X, expressing her deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the injured. From Paris, her French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, expressed deep sympathy and solidarity with the Russian people and the bereaved families. Additionally, Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, wrote on her social profile that all those involved in this crime must be found and prosecuted, concluding with condolences to the families of the victims and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Credible Claim
Despite Moscow’s insinuations, repeated by experts and commentators close to the Kremlin, intelligence services consider ISIS’s claim credible. As political experts and analysts reminded, this attack occurred just over two weeks following a warning issued by the US Embassy in the Russian capital, which claimed that extremist groups had plans to target large gatherings, including concerts.
However, the Kremlin described this alert as provocation and blackmail aimed at destabilizing society. Perhaps today, the Kremlin’s attempt to assign responsibility for the attack to Ukraine is a way for Russian authorities to avoid being accused of underestimating or ignoring the same warning.
The Kremlin leader said a gateway for terrorists to enter Ukraine had been opened, but Russian security forces’ intervention prevented the escape plan from being executed. Certainly, those responsible will be punished. It seems that Putin’s success in last week’s elections has brought Russia into a new phase. In Kremlin circles, the term war has for the first time replaced special operation, and public media have once again raised the issue of mobilizing military forces and soldiers.
A Suitable Enemy
The fact that Moscow is trying to promote its own truth about this incident after the attack is entirely consistent with a tradition that we have seen Putin use repeatedly. This means that he often uses major disasters that have occurred during his presidency as a tool to intensify crackdowns and strengthen his power.
This happened in 1999 with the bombings attributed to Dagestani and Chechen rebels that leveled two buildings in Moscow, killing 293 people, and later in 2002 when a hostage crisis at the Dubrovka Theater in the capital ended with over 130 victims. Again in 2004 with the massacre at the Beslan school in North Ossetia, where after a three-day siege, the intervention of special forces led to the death of over 300 hostages.
Today, given the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow’s insinuations are not surprising but lack substance and logic. If it is true that Kyiv’s resistance over the past two years has tried to target military and industrial bases, air bases, and ports, and perhaps even flown drones over the Kremlin,
but Kyiv’s leaders are well aware that by committing a massacre of civilians inside a concert hall, they would lose all international support. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, stated on Sunday that Putin is a pathological liar who is desperately trying to link Ukraine to the shooting incident, despite having no evidence to support this claim.
The scale of the attack that Russia has suffered seems to take us back to the darkest days of terrorism during the Chechen war from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. However, today’s domestic and international political conditions in Russia are profoundly different. In the early 2000s, Putin solidified his popularity precisely through the severe suppression of terrorism in the North Caucasus. Today, although the threat still exists there, it is generally under control. Today, considering that these threats come from Central Asia and Afghanistan and due to their broader and less defined nature, combating them is much more complex.
Moreover, Russia is a country at war and must face everything that comes with a war, from focusing attention and resources on Ukraine to deteriorating relations with the United States, which in recent years was Russia’s partner in fighting terrorism. Therefore, it is not surprising that Kyiv is held responsible for this attack in the Kremlin.
Ukraine is a more identifiable and accessible enemy, and in a Russia that is now openly defined as a country at war, even by Putin’s spokesperson, this can be a stronger motivation for a new wave of conscription and lowering the draft age, rumors of which have recently been heard in Russia.