Moscow:

Teenage cloakroom attendant Artem Donskov helped people flee to safety when gunmen stormed a concert hall near Moscow last month. Now his mother is trying to get him to see a psychologist.

In an interview with Reuters, 14-year-old Artem said he and his colleagues helped people escape via a service corridor and directed them to the exits after the attackers sprayed concert-goers with gunfire and set the building ablaze.

At one point panic broke out, he said.

“As I understood it, some man yelled that the terrorists might be coming towards us and everyone was frightened. At first, some people ran into a dead end, then they ran outside, dropping their mobile phones and bags, and tried to escape as fast as they could.”

At least 144 people were killed in the March 22 attack, the deadliest in Russia for 20 years. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility but Russia says the attackers were linked to Ukraine, something Kyiv has repeatedly denied.

Artem’s mother Alexandra Donskova told Reuters that he and the family were emotionally exhausted. She said he was a shy boy and she was concerned about his mental health.

“Of course I would like him to have at least one session with a psychologist, because I can’t treat my own child. And I would like him to work through this situation,” she said.

“He isn’t agreeing to it at the moment, but maybe I will insist a little bit later.”
 

 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Teenage cloakroom attendant Artem Donskov helped people flee to safety when gunmen rushed into a concert hall near Moscow last month. Now his mother is trying to get him to see a psychologist.

In an interview with Reuters, 14-year-old Artem said he and his colleagues helped people escape via a service corridor and directed them to the exits after the attackers sprayed concert-goers with gunfire and set the building ablaze.

At one point panic broke out, he said.

“As I understood it, some man yelled that the terrorists might be coming towards us and everyone was frightened. At first, some people ran into a dead end, then they ran outside, dropping their mobile phones and bags, and tried to escape as fast as they could.”

At least 144 people were killed in the March 22 attack, the deadliest in Russia for 20 years. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility but Russia says the attackers were linked to Ukraine, something Kyiv has repeatedly denied.

Artem’s mother Alexandra Donskova told Reuters that he and the family were emotionally exhausted. She said he was a shy boy and she was concerned about his mental health.

“Of course I would like him to have at least one session with a psychologist, because I can’t treat my own child. And I would like him to work through this situation,” she said.

“He isn’t agreeing to it at the moment, but maybe I will insist a little bit later.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

On the streets of Moscow on Sunday, there was shock, grief and anger as Russia observed a day of national mourning after the deadliest attack in the country for two decades.

And as mourners laid flowers at tributes and lit candles in churches, there were mixed feelings over President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion of a Ukrainian connection to the attack which killed more than 130 concertgoers.

“I’m still in shock,” 35-year-old lawyer Ruslana Baranovskaya said on a street running off the capital’s famed Red Square. “It’s a tragedy that crushed me mentally.”

Across the square — which was closed to the public — a flag was being flown at half-mast above the Kremlin.

At least 137 people, including three children, were killed when armed gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall concert hall on Friday evening, before setting fire to the building.

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility on multiple occasions and published a graphic video of the gunmen carrying out the attack.

Mr. Putin has not commented on IS’s claims, but did say four suspected gunmen who had been arrested were trying to flee to Ukraine. And the FSB security service said the attackers had “contacts” on the other side of the border.

In Moscow, Russians were divided on the claims of a link to Ukraine — which has been denied both by Kyiv and by the United States.

“I’m not inclined to believe the version about Ukraine’s involvement,” said Vamig Aliyev, a 22-year-old medical student whose parents are Muslims and who often went to the concert hall.

Others, however, wondered if Kyiv was to blame.

‘War on every corner’

“The war is going on in every corner of the country, not just on TV,” said Valery Chernov, a 52-year-old shopkeeper.

“It’s hard to say who is behind all this: enemies of Russia for sure, enemies of Putin who want to destabilise the order and power, so that people start to doubt that they are protected by their government.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week that Russia was in “a state of war” with Ukraine — escalating the official language used to talk about the campaign.

“It started as a special military operation, but as soon as this bunch was formed there, when the collective West became a participant on Ukraine’s side, for us it already became a war,” he said.

In Washington, the White House insisted on Sunday that Kyiv did not have any role in the massacre.
“ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, using an acronym for the IS group.

More than 5,000 people in Moscow and the surrounding region rushed to donate blood for the hospitalised after the attack, officials said on Sunday.

And more and more black billboards with the words “Crocus City Hall” or “We mourn” were replacing advertising hoardings on the sides of buildings and in metro stations.

Mourners poured to the concert hall in northwest Moscow, laying bouquets of red roses and carnations outside the venue.

‘Beslan mourns’

The attack is the deadliest in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004. In the sports hall of that town’s School No. 1 — 1,500 kilometre south of Moscow — now a memorial to the victims of the siege, mourners laid out candles in tribute, photos shared on social media showed.

The candles were formed to read: “Moscow. We mourn. Beslan.” For many in the capital, the grief was still raw.
“It’s hard for me to talk or even remember. Honestly speaking, I have bad dreams now,” said Moscow resident Alyona, 39.

Meanwhile, some had questions. “The U.S. and Britain warned their citizens,” Ms. Baranovskaya said, referring to a March 7 security alert issued by several western embassies about an imminent attack in the Russian capital.
“The question is why didn’t our security services know?” she asked.

Just three days before the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin had publicly dismissed the Western warnings as a “provocation” designed to “intimidate and destabilise Russian society.” There was also fear among many on the streets.

“I feel unsafe, that I could go somewhere and be killed. It’s scary,” Ms. Baranovskaya said.

“There is a sense that we have to be careful. It’s not a good idea to go into the metro now,” said Mr. Aliyev, the medical student. Even as he doubted the Kremlin’s version of events, he said Russian society would come together after the attack.

“Such incidents unite us to overcome obstacles together.”

Moscow:

The Kremlin refused to comment Monday on the Islamic State group’s claims that it was behind the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, as rescuers searched for bodies amid the rubble of the burnt-out Moscow concert hall.

At least 137 people were killed when gunmen in camouflage stormed Crocus City Hall, shooting spectators before setting the building on fire in the most fatal attack in Europe to have been claimed by Islamic State jihadists.

The group has said several times since Friday that it carried out the attack, and IS-affiliated media channels have published videos of the gunmen inside the venue shooting concert-goers.

But in his only public remarks on the massacre, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday pointed to a possible Ukraine connection, and no senior Russian official has commented on the IS claims.

“The investigation is still ongoing. No coherent version has yet been voiced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday when asked why Russia had not addressed IS’s claimed involvement.

“We are talking only about preliminary data. No version has been put forward yet,” he added.

Officials expect the death count to rise further, as rescuers were searching the site for remains on Monday and 97 are still in hospital.

‘Dealing with threats’

Putin has no plans to visit the site of the attack, on the northwestern edge of Moscow, Peskov said.

He will hold a meeting with Russia’s security chiefs, government officials and the heads of Moscow and the Moscow region later Monday.

The Kremlin also on Monday expressed confidence in the country’s powerful security agencies, as questions swirl over how they failed to thwart the massacre despite public and private warnings by the United States’ intelligence apparatus.

“Special services are working tirelessly, dealing with all the threats, all the challenges facing our country and society,” Peskov said.

Putin, a former Soviet spy, headed the FSB briefly before becoming president and takes pride in its reputation as a team of feared intelligence operators.

A Moscow court has remanded four suspected gunmen in custody on “terror” charges, accusing them of being the assailants who stormed the concert hall and then set it on fire on Friday night.

They face life in prison, though some Russian officials have called for the lifting of a moratorium on the death penalty to deliver even harsher sentences.

The Kremlin said Monday that it was not involved in discussions about possibly bringing back capital punishment.

Bloodied faces

In a series of late-night court hearings in Moscow that ran into the early hours of Monday, the four men — with bruises and cuts on their swollen faces — were dragged in amid dozens of reporters who had assembled at the capital’s Basmanny district court.

FSB officers wheeled one in to the hearing on a gurney, his eyes barely open.

Peskov refused to comment on reports and videos on social media that showed bloody interrogations of the suspects after they were arrested on Saturday.

The court identified them as Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Shamsidin Fariduni, Rachabalizoda Saidakrami and Dalerjon Mirzoyev. Russian state media said they were all citizens of Tajikistan.

Two of them pled guilty, the court said.

There has been no update on seven others Russia said it arrested in connection with the attack.

Removing rubble

At least 137 people, including three children, were killed, according to the latest toll by Russian investigators.

After walking through the theatre shooting spectators, the gunmen set fire to the building, trapping many inside.

Victims died both of gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.

More than 5,000 people were in the concert hall when the gunmen stormed in ahead of a sold-out rock concert, Russian state media cited a spokesperson from the venue owner as saying Monday.

Rescuers will continue sifting through the rubble and clearing debris at the site until Tuesday evening, said Andrey Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region.

“The task is to remove the rubble to make sure there are no bodies underneath,” Vorobyov said in a Telegram post.

Putin on Saturday vowed “retribution and oblivion” to the “terrorists, murderers and non-humans” who carried out the “barbaric terrorist act”.

He said the four assailants had been arrested while trying to flee to Ukraine, where they had secured a “window” to cross the border.

Mourning

The FSB has said the gunmen had “contacts” in Ukraine, without providing more details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied any Ukrainian involvement.

The United States, which on March 7 warned about an “imminent” attack in Moscow by “extremists”, has said IS bears “sole responsibility”.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron warned Russia against “exploiting” the attack to blame Kyiv.

Russia observed a day of national mourning on Sunday, with dozens coming to lay flowers at a memorial to the victims, and tribute posters were erected on the sides of buildings and at transport stops across the country.

Russian schools were holding special lessons on “terrorism,” on Monday, with children wearing white ribbons in honour of the victims, state TV presenters said in a news bulletin.

 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Ukraine had “no involvement whatsoever” in the massacre in a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130 people, the White House said Sunday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a Kyiv connection.

“ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” said White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, using an acronym for the Islamic State group, which has claimed the attack.

There was “no” evidence that Ukraine was involved, agreed Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” that was aired Sunday.

“ISIS-K is actually, by all accounts, responsible for what happened,” she said.

The “K” refers to Khorasan, with the attack being claimed by IS’s branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At least 137 people were killed when camouflaged gunmen rushed into the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, and then set fire to the building on Friday evening.

The Islamic State group on Saturday wrote on Telegram that the attack was “carried out by four IS fighters armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives and firebombs,” as part of “the raging war” with “countries fighting Islam.”

A video lasting about a minute and half apparently shot by the gunmen has been posted on social media accounts typically used by IS, according to the SITE intelligence group.

Putin has vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack” — but in his only public remarks on the massacre he made no reference to IS’s claims of responsibility.

Instead he said four gunmen trying to flee to Ukraine had been arrested.

“They tried to escape and were travelling towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border,” he said in a televised address to the nation on Saturday.

Kyiv has strongly denied any connection, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Putin of trying to shift the blame onto them.

IS-K is a Sunni group that emerged from Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province around 2015, and hopes to install a hardcore Islamic caliphate spanning India, Iran and Central Asia.

The group has carried out dozens of attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Under the Taliban, which regards it as an enemy, analysts say its efficacy inside Afghanistan has been eroded — but that in recent months it has stepped up its activities globally.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group said Saturday four of its operatives carried out an attack on a concert hall in a Moscow suburb that Russian authorities said killed at least 133 people.

“The attack was carried out by four IS fighters armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives and firebombs,” IS said on one of its Telegram channels, adding that the attack was part of “the natural context of the raging war” with “countries fighting Islam”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)