Crocus City Hall attack could be Russian security agencies' plot - disinfo watchdog
The terror attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk in the suburbs of Moscow could be an operation run by Russia's own security agencies, with the aim of putting the blame on Ukraine and justify a massive military mobilization of the population.
That's according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.
"The terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow may be an operation by the Russian security services aiming to blame Ukraine and achieve a pretext for a fresh wave of army call up in Russia. Accusations of Ukraine coming from Russia already confirm this version," the statement reads.
The CCD recalled that the US Embassy had issued a travel alert to American citizens, warning them of an imminent terror attack that was supposed to take place in Moscow in March. It was recommended that citizens avoid large gatherings. Similar warnings were also issued by the embassies of the UK, Germany, and several other Western nations.
"Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate has already stated that the terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk was a deliberate provocation by Putin's security agencies, of which the international community had been warning," the report emphasized.
The Center for Countering Disinformation added that the Kremlin had already used terror attacks involving a high civilian death toll, such as the case where an apartment block was blown up on Moscow's Kashirskoe Highway in 1999 and the hostage situation at the Nord-Ost musical in 2002, to justify the second Chechen War and aggression against the Chechen people.
Read also: Ukraine has nothing to do with terror attack near Moscow - presidential aide
As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Friday evening, a group of gunmen broke into the ground floor of the Crocus City Hall venue ahead of a music concert and opened fire on attendants. A number of explosions were reported from the scene before the building went ablaze.
The death toll of the Crocus City Hall attack has increased to 93, and rising, as over a hundred wounded people remain in hospitals.
FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov reported to President Vladimir Putin that 11 individuals had been detained, including four terrorists, who directly participated in the attack at the Crocus City Hall venue in a Moscow suburb Friday night.