Ukrainians angrily deny Putin’s claim Islamic State gunmen had been given help by Kyiv government
Death toll from rampage rises to more than 130
Ukraine has emphatically denied Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim it was linked to the shooting rampage at a concert hall near Moscow that killed more than 130 people.
In a televised address yesterday afternoon, Putin called the attack “a bloody, barbaric terrorist act” and said all four people who were directly involved had been arrested.
Putin said the four had been trying to cross the border into Ukraine which, he claimed, tried to create a “window” to help them escape.
Islamic State fighters armed with machine guns, pistols, knives and bombs killed 133 people, with another 107 people in hospital injured in the attack, including three children.
The attack took place as crowds gathered for a performance by Russian rock band Picnic.
Footage showed camouflage-clad gunmen opening fire with automatic weapons at concert-goers in the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk.
Videos showed people taking their seats, then rushing for the exits as repeated gunfire echoed above screams.
Investigators said some died from gunshot wounds and others in a huge fire that broke out.
Reports said the gunmen lit the blaze using petrol from canisters they carried in rucksacks.
Baza, a news outlet with contacts in Russian security and law enforcement, said 28 bodies were found in a toilet and 14 on a staircase. “Many mothers were found embracing their children,” it said.
It was the deadliest attack in Russia in 20 years and left the 6,000-capacity venue a smouldering ruin.
In his televised address, Putin said 11 people had been arrested, including four gunmen.
He said: “All four direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack, all those who shot and killed people, were found and detained.
“They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.”
But Putin did not offer any proof of a link with Ukraine, with which Russia has been waging war for the past 25 months.
Ukraine has strongly denied any involvement. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said attempts to connect the two were “absolutely untenable”.
He said: “Ukraine has not the slightest connection to this incident. Ukraine has a full-scale war with Russia and will solve the problem of Russia’s aggression on the battlefield.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry also denied the country had any involvement and accused Moscow of using the attack to try to stoke fervour for its war efforts.
An official said in a statement: “We consider such accusations to be a planned provocation by the Kremlin to further fuel antiUkrainian hysteria in Russian society, create conditions for increased mobilisation of Russian citizens to participate in the criminal aggression against our country and discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the international community.”
Russian politician Alexander Khinshtein said the attackers had fled in a white Renault car that was spotted by police in Bryansk region, about 210 miles south-west of Moscow on Friday night. He said a car chase ensued after they disobeyed orders to stop.
Khinshtein said a pistol, a magazine for an assault rifle, and passports from Tajikistan were found in the car. Tajikistan is a mainly Muslim central Asian state that used to be part of the Soviet Union.
An unverified video showing one of the suspects, a young bearded man, being interrogated by a roadside, saying he had received instructions from unknown people via chat app Telegram to carry out the attack in exchange for about £4,300.
Militant group Islamic State has said it was behind Friday night’s attack in a statement published online. It said its fighters killed “dozens of Christians” as part of its “raging war” with countries it said were fighting Islam.
They also published a picture claiming to show the four attackers, all masked.
The group has previously claimed responsibility for deadly attacks