The director of the Russian Federal Security Service, Aleksandr Bortnikov, asserted on Tuesday that the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, just outside Moscow, which claimed the lives of at least 139 people, was orchestrated by the U.S., Ukraine, and Great Britain. This assertion was made despite the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, the Afghan arm of the Islamic State terrorist group, already claiming responsibility for the attack. Bortnikov’s claim also contradicted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s previous statement attributing the attack to “radical Islamists.” Amidst these conflicting narratives, what is Ukraine’s perspective on Russia’s attempt to implicate Kyiv in the terrorist attack? To shed light on this, TVP World hosted Mykhailo Samus, Director of the New Geopolitics Research Network.
He suggested that one reason for propagating this false narrative might be to salvage the reputation of Russian intelligence services, which, as evidenced by Saturday’s attack, suffered “total destruction and degradation.”
Moreover, Samus emphasized that the attack demonstrated vulnerabilities within Russia’s security, as terrorists could escape to the Belarusian border, located 350 kilometers away, without encountering any obstacles, raising concerns about lapses in Russian security measures. “It means there is something wrong here,” he concluded.
Samus was alluding to the announcement made by Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on Tuesday that said that the men who attacked the Crocus music hall in Moscow on Friday were initially headed to Belarus, not Ukraine. This contradicted a previous claim made by Putin that attackers had moved toward the Ukrainian border.
EU Support
Samus said that Putin had been planning to employ all Russian military machinery to attack Ukraine, but he was waiting for the time when there would be hesitation within the U.S. Congress in continuing support for Kyiv. But he said that what has been a very positive development is that amidst this American uncertainty, Europe has stepped up in terms of its support for Ukraine, including providing ammunition which is vital if Kyiv is to defend itself.
“We hope that the U.S. will finally be back and will support even more than previously,” he said.
Polish decision about Russian missile
Samus was also asked about the Ukrainian assessment of Poland’s decision not to shoot down a Russian missile that entered Polish airspace on Sunday, lingering for 39 seconds. He said that while there was some criticism on social media, from a practical point of view, the Polish decision made sense as there are certain agreements within NATO according to which member states refrain from engaging in any direct confrontation with Russia as it may escalate the conflict.
But he cautioned that Russia would continue to engage in such airspace violations until NATO decides to revisit its policy.
