Russian FSB Chief: US, Britain, Ukraine are the puppet masters behind Crocus City Hall attack

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MOSCOW/TASS/Reuters/-The director of Russia’s most powerful security agency said on Tuesday that he believed Ukraine, along with the United States and Britain, were involved in the attack on a concert hall just outside Moscow that killed at least 139 people.

Ukraine, which has repeatedly denied any link with Friday’s attack, dismissed the Russian accusations as lies. Britain said they were “utter nonsense”. Islamic State, the militant group that once sought control over swathes of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the mass shooting.

Russian Federal Security Service Head Alexander Bortnikov Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/Gavriil Grigorov/TASS

In a televised statement, Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), asserted that the recent attack was orchestrated by Islamist radicals with assistance from Western special services. Bortnikov implicated Ukraine directly, alleging that Kyiv aided in the preparation of Islamist radicals in the Middle East.

” When questioned about the involvement of the US, Britain, and Ukraine in the attack, Bortnikov highlighted Ukraine’s efforts to demonstrate its capabilities through sabotage and terrorist acts. He further emphasized that both Ukrainian and British special services have been aiming at such actions, with mentions from US special services as well. Bortnikov cited numerous instances of attacks aimed at causing harm to Russia, including drone strikes, attacks by unmanned boats at sea, and incursions by saboteur groups and terrorist organizations into Russian territory.