While President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that "radical Islamists" carried out the massacre, he suggested that they were under the direction of Ukraine.
The head of Russia’s FSB security agency Alexander Bortnikov said Tuesday that the 4 suspects who have been captured were heading to Ukraine and would have been "greeted as heroes," despite the agency not having confirmed who "ordered the attack.
"We believe the action was prepared both by the radical Islamists themselves and, of course, facilitated by Western special services, and Ukraine’s special services themselves have a direct connection to this," Bortnikov said, per Barron’s.
However Ukraine has vehemently denied any involvement in the assault and a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin of covering up the "incompetence" of its intelligence and security agencies.Another aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said in a Telegram post on Friday: "let's be clear, Ukraine absolutely has nothing to do with these events."
Putin then said on Saturday: "All the orchestrators, all those who are responsible for this crime will inevitably be found responsible. They will pay. We will identify everyone who stands behind the service, and they will pay."
The Islamic State has stated that they were responsible several times since the terror attack, and their affiliated media channels have published graphic and exclusive videos from the gunmen's point of views inside the Crocus City Hall auditorium.
Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19; and Shamsidin Fariduni, 25, were captured and charged with committing a group terrorist attack on Saturday. They are all citizens of Tajikistan.
Mirzoyev, Rachabalizoda, and Fariduni have confessed to carrying out the terror attack.
