Putin blames West after airport mob attack

Mr Putin accused the West of creating global chaos to ensure its continued dominance and prevent rivals like Russia from taking their place in a new multipolar world .

Putin blames the West and Ukraine after the airport attack photo 1 — Image of a crowd storming the airport during the incident. Photo: TASS

Speaking at a meeting with security officials, Mr Putin said shadowy forces backed by the US were trying to destabilise and divide Russia's multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.

"The events in Makhachkala last night were also inspired through social networks, especially from the territory of Ukraine, by the hands of Western agents," Putin said.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, earlier accused Ukraine of having a "direct and key role" in the event.

Crowds gathered at the airport after a message from the Telegram channel “Utro Dagestan” urged people to take to the streets to protest against the Jews. “We need to wait for them on the street outside the airport and catch them before they leave,” a message on the channel said.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Kiev had "nothing to do" with the violence. The US also condemned the incident.

Videos from the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the Dagestan region, showed rioters, mostly young men, waving Palestinian flags, breaking windows and running through the airport on Sunday evening, shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest".

One group was seen trying to overturn a police patrol van, while another video showed rioters surrounding a Red Wings plane arriving from Tel Aviv.

Quoc Thien (according to Reuters)

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