KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday accused Russia’s Vladimir Putin of seeking to “shift the blame” onto Kyiv for the Moscow concert hall attack that killed 133 people.
“What happened yesterday in Moscow is obvious: Putin and the other scum are just trying to blame it on someone else,” Zelensky announced, after Putin said the suspects had been fleeing toward Ukraine.
“They always have the same methods,” Zelensky added.
In a televised address earlier Saturday, President Putin said the four gunmen arrested for the deadly attack were “traveling toward Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.”
Kyiv has angrily dismissed the claims by the Russian leader, which come more than two years after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
“That low-life Putin, instead of dealing with his Russian citizens, addressing them, was silent for a day, thinking about how to bring it to Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
“Everything is absolutely predictable.”
The Moscow attack has been claimed by the Daesh group.
It was the deadliest attack in Russia for almost two decades and the deadliest in Europe to have been claimed by Daesh.
Putin made no reference to the group’s claims of responsibility in his address.
Putin wants to blame Ukraine for Moscow attack: Zelensky
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Putin wants to blame Ukraine for Moscow attack: Zelensky
- “What happened yesterday in Moscow is obvious: Putin and the other scum are just trying to blame it on someone else,” Zelensky announced
- Kyiv has angrily dismissed the claims by the Russian leader
UK secures migrant return deal with Angola, Namibia; DRC faces visa curbs
LONDON: Angola and Namibia have agreed to accept the return of illegal migrants and criminals after the British government threatened visa penalties for countries refusing to cooperate, the UK Home Office said late on Saturday.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been stripped of fast-track visa services and preferential treatment for VIPs and decision-makers after failing to meet Britain’s requirements to improve cooperation, the Home Office said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Britain could escalate measures to a complete halting of visas for the DRC unless “co-operation rapidly improves.”
“We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back,” the Home Secretary added.
The agreements mark the first major change under reforms announced last month to make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally in Britain.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK has “removed more than 50,000 people with no right to remain” since July last year, a 23 percent increase on the previous period, and instructed diplomats to make returns a top priority.
