Who masterminded the Crocus City terrorist attack?

The main suspects in last week's terror attack at the Crocus City Hall complex have confessed that they were ordered by a mysterious man who asked the terrorist group to flee to Ukraine.

People lay flowers in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack. Photo: AFP

That was the initial testimony of the group of suspects announced by the Russian Investigative Committee on March 29. During subsequent interrogations, the suspects said the attack was prepared in coordination with a man who introduced himself by a pseudonym.

The person contacted them via voice message sent via Telegram channel.

According to RT, this law enforcement agency said: "Following the instructions of the mysterious man, after committing the crime, the terrorists drove the car towards the Russia-Ukraine border to cross the border and go to Kiev to receive the promised reward."

The Russian Investigative Committee said it was continuing to establish the involvement of representatives of Ukrainian special services in “organizing and financing the terrorist attack.”

Russian special forces intercepted four suspects on March 23 on their way to the Ukrainian border. They were identified as Tajikistani citizens and were initially described as “radical Islamists.”

The Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), an affiliate of IS in Afghanistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The US and EU have said that ISIS-K was the sole perpetrator and that Ukraine had nothing to do with it.

However, Moscow remains skeptical. President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Russian Security Service (FSB) and the Russian Investigative Committee have all stated that there are many clues pointing to Kiev's involvement.

On March 28, the Russian Investigative Committee revealed that four suspects had received “a significant amount of money” from Ukraine in the form of cryptocurrency, which was then used to prepare for the attack on Crocus City Hall.

On March 29, Russia arrested the ninth suspect, Nazrimad Lutfulloi, a Tajik national, in connection with the terrorist attack and he partially confessed.

Meanwhile, Marcel de Graaff, a member of the European Parliament, has claimed from the Dutch right-wing Forum for Democracy (FvD) that the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall last week, which claimed the lives of 144 people, was planned and paid for by Ukraine.

The statement said investigators had obtained “confirmed evidence” that the suspected attackers in Moscow received funding from Ukraine in the form of cryptocurrency, which was then used to prepare for the mass shooting and explosion at the concert hall in the Crocus City Hall shopping mall.

Ukraine has so far firmly denied any involvement in the mass shooting and explosions. On March 23, Mykhailo Podoliak, spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Kiev had nothing to do with the deadly terrorist attack near Moscow on the evening of March 22. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has also denied any involvement in the attack.

Compiled by NGUYEN TAN

Source