On Friday night, a commando of gunmen in combat gear opened fire and detonated explosives in the Crocus City Music Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow. The venue was completely engulfed in flames, as at least four gunmen fired automatic weapons and panicked people who tried desperately to get to safety. It is not yet known how many attackers there were in all, nor how many people may have been trapped by the fire, but according to the latest reports, the death toll rises to 137, including some children.
Vladimir Putin has taken to TV to attack Ukraine for Friday night’s assault. The Kremlin announced “11 arrests, including four terrorists.”
The attack was claimed by Isis, and the White House confirmed that U.S. intelligence had been informing Russia for months that it had fairly specific information that ISIS-K wanted to carry out attacks in Russia. But the Kremlin chief also pointed the finger at Kyiv: partial results of the investigation showed that a “window” had been created on the Ukrainian side of the border to allow the four Crocus City Hall bombers in Moscow to cross, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address to the nation. “We will identify all those behind this terrorist act and they will pay for it,” Putin said, adding that those responsible for the massacre at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall indiscriminately killed Russian citizens “like Nazis.”
The tragic numbers of reported fatalities could escalate further: 6,200 tickets had been sold at the theater on the capital’s northwestern outskirts.
Russian emergency teams continue to work inside the large concert hall. The situation remains difficult, which is why rescue and debris clearance work must continue around the clock, Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobiev told reporters. “As a result, when we remove the rubble, we will see the number of dead and injured. That is why we are doing everything possible to ensure the necessary pace of work,” Vorobiev said.
The attack occurred as the crowd gathered to watch a performance by the popular Russian rock band Picnic. In the first videos posted online, three uniformed men can be seen slinging rifles and firing point-blank shots at the people.
In the immediate aftermath, several Russian parliamentarians had pointed fingers at Ukraine-which was hit hard by Moscow’s air force on Thursday, causing widespread blackouts in Kyiv and Kharkiv that left more than a million people without access to electricity. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, however, denied any involvement by Kyiv: “Ukraine has never resorted to terrorist methods,” he wrote in X. “Everything in this war will be decided only on the battlefield.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that “the images are just horrific. And difficult to look at.”
“Our thoughts are with the victims of this terrible attack,” Kirby said. “There are moms and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters who have not yet received the news. It will be a difficult day.” Kirby then added that “there is no indication at this time that Ukraine or Ukrainians were involved in the shooting.”
In early March, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, followed by many other Western embassies (including the Italian Embassy, the Farnesina), had told its compatriots to stay away from crowded areas of the Russian capital because of possible “imminent” attacks by extremists against large gatherings.
In recent days, the FSB had claimed to have foiled an attack on a Moscow synagogue by an Islamic State cell.
