Remembering the victims
National day of mourning after terrorist attack in Moscow
This Sunday, Russia is commemorating the more than 130 victims of the terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow with a national day of mourning. The Islamic State terrorist militia had already claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday night, but Russian President Putin instead saw a "Ukrainian trail" behind the attack. Kiev rejected any involvement in the attack.
Abroad, Serbia and Nicaragua joined the commemoration with their own days of mourning. At least 133 people were killed in the attack on Friday evening, including three children. More victims could still be found under the rubble.
The four main suspects in the terrorist attack were brought to the Russian capital for questioning on Saturday evening. As the state agency Tass reported, the four men were driven to the so-called Investigative Committee in a strictly secured motorcade.
Pictures from Moscow:
Life imprisonment looms
An application for an arrest warrant is to be made in court in the coming days. They are all facing life imprisonment. Eleven suspects were arrested after the attack.
Selenskyj rejects Putin's accusations
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi categorically rejected Putin's attempts to blame Ukraine for the attack with unsubstantiated accusations.
"Bastards want to put the blame on us"
"After what happened yesterday in Moscow, Putin and the other bastards are of course just trying to put the blame on someone else," said Zelenskyi in his daily video address on Saturday evening. The Russian side always uses the same methods. "And they always blame others."
Zelensky accused Russia of spreading terror itself. Russians come to Ukraine to burn down cities "and try to put the blame on Ukraine". They tortured and raped people - and blamed the victims. "They have brought hundreds of thousands of their own terrorists here, on Ukrainian soil, to fight against us, and they don't care what happens in their country."
Kremlin chief sticks to his conspiracy theory
In a speech broadcast by state television on Saturday afternoon, Putin spoke of Ukraine's alleged involvement in the terrorist attack. Referring to four of the arrested men, he said: "They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where a window had been prepared for them to cross the border."
"Thousands of Christians attacked"
The IS propaganda channel Amak published a picture on Saturday showing four people whose faces had been made unrecognizable. Armed with assault rifles, pistols and bombs, the fighters had dealt Russia a "heavy blow". The attack targeted "thousands of Christians in a music hall". The IS fights followers of Christianity and regards them as infidels.
50 victims identified, thousands of blood donations
Meanwhile, forensic experts continued to identify the victims. By Saturday evening, 50 victims had already been identified. Many people in the concert hall were burned beyond recognition, it was said. Almost 4000 people had donated blood by the evening to facilitate the medical treatment of the injured. The authorities said that at least 147 people were injured, many of them in critical condition.
More bodies suspected under the rubble
According to Governor Vorobyov, the clean-up and recovery work at the badly damaged concert hall should continue at least until Sunday evening. There could be more bodies under the rubble.
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