“Our military services, our emergency services … our investigators are working on finding out … who gave them transportation, … who gave them weapons,” Putin said, comparing the massacre to Nazi atrocities during the Second World War.
The shooting rampage occurred late Friday at the Crocus City Hall theater on the outskirts of Moscow. In addition to the 133 deaths, more than 100 people were injured, and searches for more victims are continuing, authorities said.
Putin said he expects cooperation against terrorist threats from other countries. “We will stand united against this common enemy international terrorism no matter where it shows its ugly head,” he said.
“All the perpetrators, organizers and those who ordered this crime will be justly and inevitably punished — whoever they are, whoever is guiding them,” Putin said. He did not blame any specific terrorist group for the massacre.
Ukraine, which has been defending itself from Russia’s full-scale invasion for two years, has repeatedly denied any links to the attackers, with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry labeling Moscow’s accusations as a Kremlin attempt to mobilize Russian citizens against Ukraine and to try to distance the international community from Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly address late Saturday, blamed Putin for sending troops into Ukraine instead of defending Russian citizens from terror attacks at home.
