Shooting and fire in a shopping centre near Moscow: what is known, Ukraine’s reaction
22 March 2024 21:58
Today, on 22 March, in the evening, a shooting started in the Crocus City Hall shopping centre near Moscow. Preliminary information about 40 dead and more than 100 wounded is available.
This is reported by Russian Telegram channels, Kommersant ukrainskyi
reports.
It is noted that several men wearing camouflage entered the concert hall before the start of the Picnic band’s performance and opened fire.
At the time of the attack, more than six thousand people could have been in the hall – the Crocus City Hall concert hall seats 6,200 spectators, and all tickets for the Picnic concert were sold out.
“They are shooting from a machine gun, shooting at the crowd,” one of the eyewitnesses says in the video.
Videos posted on social media show people fleeing the building. A video of a huge fire in Crocus City Hall is also posted. The footage also shows a strong fire and dead people.
Russian authorities’ response
Authorities arrived at the scene, including the governor of the Moscow region and the regional prosecutor. An operational headquarters was also set up. All public events were cancelled in Moscow, and railway officials tightened security on trains and at railway stations.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced the opening of a criminal case under the article on terrorism.
Ukraine’s reaction
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, stressed that Ukraine had nothing to do with the shooting.
According to Podolyak, Kyiv is not involved in the terrorist attack near Moscow because it is engaged in a full-scale war on the battlefield, and that is where everything should be resolved.
Secondly, Ukraine has never used terrorist methods of warfare, terrorism as a method of warfare, unlike Russia,” he explained.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) spokesman Andriy Yusov said that the Kremlin’s special services were responsible for the shooting at the Crocus City Hall concert hall.
Yusov added that Russia’s current massive combined strikes using missiles and drones against Ukrainian civilian and critical energy infrastructure are part of this Kremlin’s special operation. Russia, in his opinion, is trying to demonstrate that the terrorist attack was allegedly prepared by Ukrainians in response to Russian aggression.
The Russian Volunteer Corps, which is fighting on the side of Ukraine, also denied any involvement in the shooting and fire in the shopping centre.
The Freedom of Russia Legion said it blamed the incident on “Putin’s terrorist regime”.
We have already experienced similar manifestations of the Kremlin dictatorship since Putin’s first days in power and are not surprised by another bloody provocation. The terrorist attack was being prepared. So was its media coverage,
– the Legion said in a statement.
As a reminder, on 8 March, the US Embassy warned its citizens in Russia about the threat of a terrorist attack in Moscow.
American diplomats stated that the attack could be carried out in crowded places, for example, at a concert.
At the same time, the US Embassy reported the threat of a terrorist attack within the next 48 hours.
