Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called the Moscow concert hall attack in which 150 people lost their lives a “barbaric terrorist act”. He also announced a day of nationwide mourning in the country on March 24.
Addressing the nation via a televised speech, Putin condemned the heinous attack, stating, “I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people. … I declare 24 March a day of national mourning”.
Putin also said that the four gunmen who killed more than 100 at a Moscow concert hall had been arrested, and promised severe repercussions for all those involved in orchestrating the assault.
“All four perpetrators of the terrorist act who shot and killed people have been detained. They were travelling towards Ukraine … We will identify and punish everybody who stood behind the terrorists, who prepared the attack.”
He further said, “They tried to escape; they were moving toward the border of Ukraine. The investigative authority will do everything to identify them. These criminals went specifically to kill our people. We expect that other nations that share our pain to cooperate with us. These terrorists have no nationality.”
Earlier, Militant Islamist group Islamic State claimed full responsibility for Friday’s attack but there were indications that Russia was pursuing a Ukrainian link, despite emphatic denials from Ukrainian officials that Kyiv had anything to do with it.
On Russian authorities pointing fingers at the Ukrainian government for the attack, Ukraine has strongly denied any involvement in the attack. Ukraine’s foreign ministry also denied that the country had any involvement and accused Moscow of using the attack to try to stoke fervor for its war efforts.
Images shared by Russian state media Saturday showed a fleet of emergency vehicles still gathered outside the ruins of Crocus City Hall, which had a maximum capacity of more than 6,000 people.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) expresses its strongest condemnation of the heinous attack at a concert venue near Moscow on 22 March. It said that this act of terrorism, involving gunmen and an incendiary device, caused unspeakable tragedy, affecting hundreds of innocent civilians, including workers and families gathered for an evening of music.
