TALLINN: Russian authorities on Friday again tried to link the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to Ukraine, saying one of the detained suspects had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag.
Ever since the March 22 mass shooting and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed 145 people, Russian officials have sought to blame Ukraine for the massacre, even though Kyiv has denied any involvement and an affiliate of Daesh claimed responsibility.
Authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, have provided no evidence for the link as they sought to shift the narrative from the failure by security services to prevent the attack.
Russia’s top law enforcement agency, the Investigative Committee, said in a statement Friday that authorities found photos in one of the suspects’ phones depicting “people in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag against the background of destroyed houses.”
The phone also bore an image of a Ukrainian postage stamp with an obscene message, the committee said. It did not release the image, but it could be referring to a popular postage stamp issued by Kyiv that commemorates a moment early in the 2022 invasion when Ukrainian soldiers reportedly issued a defiant expletive at a Russian warship.
The committee also said one of the suspects sent images of access roads and entrances to the concert hall to their handler on Feb. 24 — the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The findings “may indicate between the terrorist attack and the carrying out of the special military operation,” the committee said, using the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war. The agency’s claims couldn’t be independently verified.
On the day after the attack, authorities said they captured four men in the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine and alleged they had carried out the shootings. Putin and other officials claim the four were headed for Ukraine.
The four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. A number of others have been arrested as accomplices in several Russian regions, and detentions of people possibly linked to the attackers were reported in Tajikistan, as well.
The attack came two weeks after the US Embassy in Russia issued a warning about a possible attack in Moscow on a large gathering. The US State Department said it passed information about the threat to Russian officials.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this week declined comment on a report in The Washington Post that US officials had specifically identified Crocus City Hall as a potential target, saying that was a matter for the security services.
The attack marked a major security failure under Putin, who came to power 24 years ago by taking a tough line against those he labeled terrorists from the Russian region of Chechnya who were waging an insurgency.
The security lapse has led many to ask how gunmen could kill so many people at a mass gathering, with critics accusing Russia’s security forces of focusing on stifling political dissent rather than dealing with real public threats.
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
https://arab.news/bpwns
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
- Authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, have provided no evidence for the link as they sought to shift the narrative
- Authorities said they captured four men in the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine and alleged they had carried out the shootings
Ukraine, US, Europe still seeking common ground in peace talks, French official says
- French presidency official: “The European perspective of Ukraine is clear and it’s a realistic perspective”
PARIS: Ukraine, the United States and European powers are still working to find a joint position that would outline the contours of a peace deal, including security guarantees for Kyiv, that could be taken to Russia, a French presidency official said on Friday.
“Our goal is to have a common foundation that is solid for negotiation. This common ground must unite Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans,” the official told reporters in a briefing.
“It should allow us, together, to make a negotiating offer, a solid, lasting peace offer that respects international law and Ukraine’s sovereign interests, an offer that American negotiators are willing to bring to the Russians.”
The official said there was no joint document yet, but all sides would carry on negotiations in the coming days through various calls and meetings. He did not say whether Washington had set a deadline.
Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a US-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favorable to Moscow.
Britain, France and Germany, along with other European partners and Ukraine, have been working frantically in the last few weeks to refine the original US proposals that envisaged Kyiv giving up swathes of its territory to Moscow, abandoning its ambition to join NATO and accepting limits on the size of its armed forces.
The French official said the talks aimed at narrowing differences with the United States and centered on territory and potential security guarantees for Ukraine once there is a peace accord.
Those discussions include the possibility of a NATO Article-5 type clause involving Washington that would seek to reassure Kyiv in case it was once again attacked by Russia, the official said.
The Europeans have also faced pressure in recent weeks with some American proposals touching on elements that concern NATO and the European Union, including suggestions on fast-tracking Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.
“The European perspective of Ukraine is clear and it’s a realistic perspective,” the official said. “That is what we are committed to and it is up to the Europeans and the Ukrainians to agree on how to proceed.”
