Putin Calls Terror Attack Warning ‘Blackmail’

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Biden administration of “blackmail” after reports that Washington warned Moscow of a possible terrorist attack on its soil. The Russian leader’s words came after a terrorist attack on a Moscow-area concert hall that killed at least 130 people and was claimed by ISIS.

Russia reportedly received the warning from Washington about two weeks ago. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow stated that Americans should “avoid large gatherings” such as concerts due to concern about “imminent plans” for an attack.

A Dubbed Version of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Full-Speech from earlier this morning, in which he discusses the Terrorist Attack last night against the Crocus Concert Hall in Moscow while also claiming that the Attack is somehow Linked to Ukraine and that the Terrorists… pic.twitter.com/Akoe8Y3BMV

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 23, 2024

“All this resembles outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society,” Putin said three days before the attack.

The Russian leader attempted to link the terror attack to Ukraine, but ISIS took responsibility. The terrorist group issued photos of the attackers which matched up with the clothing of the suspects captured after the attack.

In a televised speech, Putin claimed that some of the suspects attempted to flee to Ukraine. Russian law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of 11 suspects.

Putin called the attack a “bloody, barbaric terrorist act.”

“All four direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack, all those who shot and killed people, were found and detained,” he said. “They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.”

Those who provided them with transport, planned escape routes from the crime scene, prepared caches, caches of weapons and ammunition,” Putin said. “It is already obvious that we are faced not just with a carefully and cynically planned terrorist attack, but with the organized mass murder of peaceful, defenseless people. The criminals were cold-blooded and purposefully going to kill, shoot our citizens at point-blank range — our children.”

Furthermore, ISIS released body camera footage of the attack.

The Russian government also tied a van found near the attack site to Ukraine, though the license plate on the outside had the marker of Belarus, which is a Russian ally.

The terrorist attack increases pressure on Putin following a heavily-boycotted election that the Russian government said returned him for another term with more than 80% of the vote.