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.)

In June 2015, a few months after the Islamic State (IS) announced its Wilayat Khorasan, the Taliban wrote a letter to the IS chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Taliban’s demand was that the IS should stop recruiting jihadists in Afghanistan. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State were insurgencies that time.

The letter, signed by the then political committee chief of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansour said there was room for “only one flag and one leadership” in the fight to re-establish Islamic rule in Afghanistan. Mullah Mansour would later become Taliban’s leader and be killed by a U.S. air strike in May 2016.

The Islamic State faction, which came to be known as the Islamic State-Khorasan, did not stop recruiting disgruntled Taliban fighters. Nor did it stop launching terror attacks across Afghanistan. Today, the Taliban are no longer an insurgency. They are the government in Kabul. And the IS-Khorasan has emerged as the most powerful branch of the Islamic State networks. It has training centres in the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. It has recruited thousands of disgruntled Central Asians. It has carried out a number of attacks in recent months, including the January twin bombings in Kerman, Iran, a strike on a church in Istanbul and a massive attack on a concert hall in the outskirts of Moscow on March 22.

Armed gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Concert Hall and threw explosives, killing at least 137 people and wounding nearly 200 others, in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Russia in years. Russian authorities have arrested and charged four Tajik nationals for the attack.

When the Islamic State announced the formation of the Khorasan Wilayat in January 2015, referring to an geographical area encompassing Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, the group’s immediate strategy was to exploit the divisions within the main jihadist groups operating in the region. It appointed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Hafiz Saeed Khan as its leader and former Afghan Taliban commander Abdul Rauf Aliza as his deputy (both were killed in U.S. strikes). It attracted members from different militant organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Haqqani Network and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan into its fold.

The IS-K declared its allegiance to Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the self-declared Khalifa, who was killed by an American strike in 2019. In operational tactics and ideology, it followed its parental organisation. The key goal is to establish “Islamic rule” in the “province” and for that they are ready to wage “jihad”. In a video message released in in 2015. the IS-Khorasan stated: “There is no doubt that Allah the Almighty has blessed us with jihad in the land of Khorasan since a long time ago, and it is from the grace of Allah that we fought any disbeliever who entered the land of Khorasan. All of this is for the sake of establishing the Shariah.”

When the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria came under pressure in 2015 and 2016, the core organisation shifted its focus to Afghanistan. The IS was losing territories to Kurdish militias in Syria and government forces and Shia militias in Iraq. In Afghanistan, a fractured country batted by civil war, the IS saw an opportunity to rebuild its organisation. Having built its base in eastern Afghanistan, the IS-Khorasan issued propaganda messages, calling on Muslim youth across Asia to join the group. Many radicalised youth, including dozens from India, travelled to Afghanistan to either join the IS or live an “Islamic life” under the Caliphate’s rule.

But this upset the Taliban, which did not want its monopoly of violent jihad to be challenged. The Taliban are a tribal, nationalist militant force, backed by Pakistan, whereas the IS-Khorasan doesn’t believe in national borders — they are global jiahdists fighting for a transnational Islamist Caliphate.

The ideological and operational differences led to open clashes between the IS- Khorasan and the Taliban. When the Taliban seized Kabul and took over prisons in August 2021, they freed several of their members, but executed IS-Khorasan militants and leaders. Currently, Shahab al-Muhajir is the Emir” of the group.

Why Russia?

The U.S. has carried out a number of targeted attacks, killing several of the IS-Khorasan leaders. In April 2017, then President Donald Trump ordered troops to drop the ‘Mother of all Bombs’, the most powerful non-nuclear bomb, on IS caves in eastern Afghanistan. But despite the U.S.’s targeted bombings and the Taliban’s counter-attacks on the ground, the IS-Khorasan has continued to expand its operations. When the Taliban established its regime in Kabul, the IS-Khorasan proclaimed that it is the real jihadist outfit. Militants from Central Asia who were part of the Islamic State Caliphate swelled the IS-Khorasan’s ranks after they relocated to Afghanistan.

The IS-Khorasan also launched propaganda videos targeting Afghanistan’s ethnic minorities such as Tajiks and Uzbeks, who were excluded by the Taliban’s Pashtun-only regime. Russia, its President Vladimir Putin and Iran emerged as the key enemies in the IS’s propaganda videos. After the Moscow attack, the IS said its soldiers had killed a “lot of Christians”. It also said Russia had “blood of Muslims on its hands”, referring to its military operations in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.

Why does the IS hate Russia and Iran?

The answer lies in Syria.

The IS was founded in in Syria in 2014 amid the country’s civil war. It had grand ambitions, which were thwarted by Russia’s 2015 intervention. The IS captured eastern Syrian cities of Raqqa and Der Ezzour in 2013 and 2014, and it wanted to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and capture Damascus, the seat of power of the Umayyad Caliphate in the seventh century.

But Russia’s intervention, along with help from Iran, which is a Shia majority republic, made sure that President Assad survived the civil war. In 2017, when the IS captured the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, Russians fought along with the Syrian troops to liberate the city. Subsequently, the IS’s physical Caliphate was crushed by a host of forces — Kurds, Iraqis, Syrians and Iran-trained Shia militias with air cover from Russia and the U.S. Now, the IS-Khorasan sees ‘Christian’ Russia and ‘Rejectionist’ Iran (in the IS lexicon, Shias are “rejectionists”, who rejects the first three Caliphs of Sunni Islam) as top enemies.

Today, the IS-Khorasan wants to be the centre of global jihadism. Back-to-back attacks in different places from Istanbul to Kerman to Moscow suggest that the group is on a path to revival, six years after its physical Caliphate was destroyed. Chaos in West Asia, a base in Afghanistan, and foot soldiers from Central Asia are all helping the group expand its activities, with a highly sophisticated internet propaganda.

Reporting: Stanly Johny

Production: Shibu Narayan and Shikha Kumari

Moscow:

A Russian court on Friday ordered another suspect charged with “terrorism” over the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to be held in pre-trial detention.

Russia has detained 12 people in connection with the massacre.

They include the four men accused of having shot dozens of concert-goers and then set the Crocus City Hall venue on fire last week in the deadliest attack in Russia for two decades.

The Basmanny district court in Moscow said Friday it had ordered Nazrimad Lutfulloi, a Tajik citizen, to be held in pre-trial detention until 22 May.

Nine of the 12 people arrested by the Russian authorities have been sent to pre-trial detention. There has been no update on the other three.

The suspects face life in prison.

The Islamic State (IS) group has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack, its deadliest on European soil.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has alleged a Ukrainian and Western connection.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has said it has evidence that “Ukrainian nationalists” were behind the attack and had funded the gunmen with crypto currency payments from Ukraine. 

It did not provide details of the allegations.

On Friday, it claimed the attackers had received orders from an unidentified coordinator via the Telegram messaging app, and that the gunmen had planned to flee to Ukraine to collect a reward.

Ukraine and the West have repeatedly dismissed the claims, accusing Moscow of seeking to exploit the tragedy for their own ends.

Russia’s health minister said Friday that another victim had died in hospital, taking the death count from the attack to 144.

IS on Friday issued its latest claim of responsibility when it said four of its members had been arrested after the attack.

In the latest issue of its weekly Al-Nabaa magazine published Friday on Telegram channels, the group said its fighters had been hunted down by ground and air forces and captured.

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

Baghdad, Iraq:

The Islamic State group said Friday four of its members had been arrested after they attacked a concert hall near Moscow killing 143 people, a day after Russia blamed Ukraine.

On March 22, gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, setting the venue alight and wounding 80 people.

Moscow has detained 12 people and charged eight with “terror-related offences” over their alleged roles in the attack. They include four suspects from Tajikistan who are accused of carrying it out, Russian state media said.

IS swiftly claimed the attack, although Moscow has said repeatedly that the attackers had links to “Ukrainian nationalists” — a claim Kyiv rejects.

In the latest issue of its weekly Al-Nabaa magazine published Friday on Telegram channels, the group said its fighters had been hunted down by ground and air forces.

The operation ended when the men were surrounded in “a forest”, IS said, adding that they were now in “captivity”.

A Moscow court has remanded the four main suspects in custody until May 22 — a date likely to be extended until their trial.

Russia has been a repeated target of attack by IS, in retaliation for its suppression of unrest in Muslim-majority regions and its support for President Bashar al-Assad’s government in the civil war in Syria.

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

Moscow:

As many as 95 people are still missing after last week’s attack near Moscow when gunmen sprayed concertgoers with automatic weapons and set the venue on fire, a Russian news outlet reported on Wednesday.

The official toll from the attack on Crocus City Hall now stands at 140 dead and 182 wounded. But the Baza news service, which has good contacts in Russian security and law enforcement, said 95 more people appeared in lists compiled by the emergency services based on appeals from people about missing relatives.

“These lists include people with whom relatives have not been able to get in touch since the terrorist attack, but who are not on the lists of wounded and dead,” Baza said. “Some of these people died, but have not yet been identified.”

Russian investigators said the attack was carried out by four shooters using Kalashnikov automatic weapons. More than 500 rounds were found at the scene.

The shooting began shortly before the Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” was set to play to a full house of 6,200 people. More than 200 people could have been in the blazing building moments before the roof collapsed, Baza reported on Saturday, citing emergency service sources who reviewed surveillance footage.

Russian social media channels have been flooded in the days since the shooting with appeals to help find victims.

Gathering in a Telegram chat called “Crocus. Help Centre,” friends and relatives shared names of missing concertgoers and offered support.

“Was there anyone on the list named Igor Valentinovich Klimenchenko?,” one user wrote on Saturday night. “Can someone send the list of victims?”

The name Klimenchenko was not on the list of confirmed dead published by Russia’s emergencies ministry.

‘VERY WORRIED’

Another person wrote in the same chat that their uncle worked not far from Crocus and hadn’t been in touch since the attack. “I’m very worried,” the nephew wrote on Saturday night.

Local media in the Bryansk region, southwestern Russia, reported on Wednesday that a woman was still searching for her son, Dmitry Bashlykov, a schoolteacher in Moscow who went to the “Picnic” concert with a friend who managed to escape.

Bashlykov’s name was not on the emergencies ministry list.

Several missing persons have since been confirmed dead, like 15-year-old Arseny, who went to the concert with his mother, Irina Vedeneyeva.

The SHOT Telegram channel on Sunday published a photo of Arseny that it said he sent his grandmother shortly before the concert began, along with appeals from the “grief-stricken pensioner” to help find him. His mother had already been confirmed dead, SHOT said.

In the photo, Arseny stands in a black hooded sweatshirt in front of a poster for Picnic, which SHOT said was his favourite band. On Monday, the channel wrote that Arseny’s body had been found and identified by his relatives.

The names of both mother and son are on the list of confirmed dead published by Russia’s emergencies ministry.

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

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.

Eleven people have been detained in connection with the attack, which saw camouflaged gunmen storm into Crocus City Hall, open fire on concert-goers and set the building ablaze, killing at least 137 people.

Islamic State jihadists have said several times since Friday that they were responsible, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.

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 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.

In a series of late-night court hearings in Moscow that ran into the early hours of Monday, four of the suspects — 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 into 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.

Three other suspects, whom Russian media identified as family members Aminchon Islomov, Dilovar Islomov and Isroil Islomov, were remanded in pre-trial detention on Monday.

One of those detained has Russian citizenship, the Interfax news agency reported.

All of those held in custody have been charged with terrorism and face up to life in prison. The Kremlin has pushed back at suggestions the death penalty will be re-introduced.

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.

Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon condemned the attack again on Monday, after Russian media reported the gunmen were Tajik citizens.

The attack “calls on all of us, especially parents, to once again pay even more serious attention to the education of children,” he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

 

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

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.)

New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and conveyed his condolences on the loss of lives in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which claimed 133 lives.

In a post on X, Mr Jaishankar stated, “Spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Conveyed our deepest condolences on the loss of lives in the horrific terrorist attack in Moscow.”

Spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Conveyed our deepest condolences on the loss of lives in the horrific terrorist attack in Moscow.

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) March 24, 2024

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the terror attack inside a packed concert hall in Moscow, calling it a ‘heinous act’ and expressing solidarity with the Russian government and its people.

“We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief,” PM Modi posted from his X handle.

The toll from the heinous attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue near Moscow, which the ISIS claimed credit for, stood at 133 on Sunday, Russia-based TASS reported, citing the Russian Investigative Committee.

The tragic events unfolded on Friday evening at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the western outskirts of the Russian capital. The concert venue, with an estimated capacity of 7,500, was almost full when the terrorists struck. The assault took place ahead of a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic, RT news agency reported.

According to the mobile phone footage and eyewitness accounts, at least five gunmen wearing military-style gear and carrying assault rifles first opened fire at unarmed security guards at the main entrance to the venue.

They then proceeded to shoot indiscriminately at the fleeing crowd of panicked visitors. Once the terrorists reached the concert hall, they appeared to set fire to rows of chairs inside, with the blaze quickly engulfing much of the building, including its roof.

Investigators have stated that preliminary findings based on evidence at the scene appear to confirm that the terrorists used automatic weapons during the attack, and used some sort of flammable liquid to set fire to the premises.

The Investigative Committee said it is now carrying out ballistic, genetic, and fingerprint analysis based on the material evidence found at the scene. According to CNN report, the ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack at the concert venue complex in Russia.

Meanwhile, the Russian intelligence agencies detained 11 people, including four ‘terrorists’, who they claimed were ‘directly’ involved in a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall, TASS reported citing Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) statement on Saturday.

“The activities of intelligence and law enforcement agencies have resulted in the detention of 11 people, including four terrorists, who directly participated in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall,” the statement read.

Following the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish terrorists after they carried out an attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, on Friday evening (local time), which claimed 115 lives.

In his televised address to the nation posted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, Putin said, “Our people, our children, just like the Nazis that once killed our people during the war. They do the same. 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 these terrorists and they will pay. This is a strike against Russia.”

He said that Russia will investigate the terrorist attack and added that all four perpetrators who were directly involved in the attack were apprehended. He asserted that the investigative authorities will make every effort to identify the details of the attack. Russian President said that these criminals went specifically to kill people, “point black.”

Putin said, “We will investigate this terrorist attack and we already have some results. All the four perpetrators, who were directly involved who were gunning people down, killing people. They were found and apprehended. They tried to escape. They were moving towards the border with Ukraine and we have data that suggests that they were about to be moved towards the territory of Ukraine by those in Ukraine.”

“Our military services, our emergency services, our investigators are working on finding out the orchestrators of this terrorist attack, those who gave them transportation, who gave them weapons, etc. The investigative authorities will do everything to identify all details of this crime. But it’s already evident that we face not just a cynically organized terrorist attack, but a massive mass killing of civilians. These perpetrators, these criminals went specifically to kill, to kill people, point blank,” he added.

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

Kyiv:

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the western region of Lviv were under Russian air attack early Sunday, officials said, and Polish forces were also placed on heightened readiness.

“Explosions in the capital. Air defence is working. Do not leave shelters,” Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram.

Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said Stryi district, south of the city of Lviv, near the Polish border, was also under attack.

Ukraine was earlier placed under a nationwide air alert that warned of cruise missiles being launched from Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers.

The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command (RSZ) said its forces were on a heightened state of readiness because of the “intensive long-range aviation activity of the Russian Federation tonight” and the missile attacks in Ukraine.

“All necessary procedures to ensure the security of Polish airspace have been activated and the RSZ is monitoring the situation continuously,” it said.

The RSZ also said “Polish and allied aircraft have been activated”.

Russia and Ukraine have increased their air attacks in recent weeks.

Kyiv, which has struggled to find weapons and soldiers after more than two years of war, has promised to retaliate by taking the fighting to Russian soil.

Moscow has responded by escalating its own strikes, firing dozens of missiles on Friday and launching dozens of explosive drones to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

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

Moscow:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called an attack on a concert hall that killed more than 100 a “barbaric terrorist act” and vowed harsh retribution to all those involved.

In a televised address, Putin said all four gunmen had been arrested before they had a chance to cross the border into Ukraine.

“I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people,” Putin said in his first public remarks since the attack.

“All four perpetrators of the terrorist attack who shot and killed people have been detained. They were travelling towards Ukraine where, according to preliminary information, they had a window to cross the border,” the Kremlin leader said.

Russia’s FSB security service said earlier the assailants had been “in contact” with people in Ukraine as they tried to flee the country.

At least 115 people were killed by armed gunmen at the Crocus City Hall in a suburb on the northern edge of Moscow on Friday. The concert hall was set ablaze. The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group but Russian authorities have not mentioned this.

“Terrorists, murderers, non-humans will face the unenviable fate of retribution and oblivion,” said Putin, who declared Sunday a day of national mourning across Russia.

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