Putin points to Ukraine in Crocus City attack, Lukashenko contradicts
Kremlin propaganda is strenuously attempting to pin the attack on Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk on Ukraine. Although Putin acknowledged that "radical Islamists" executed the attack, he continues to insinuate that they had links with Kyiv, pointing out they headed towards the Ukrainian border. Belarus's Lukashenko, however, disputes this assertion.
"The individuals behind Friday's terrorist attack near Moscow initially aimed to escape to Belarus, not Ukraine," Lukashenko stated on Tuesday.
He further mentioned that Belarusian and Russian security forces collaborated as the suspects fled by car southwest of Moscow, en route to the Bryansk region, which is adjacent to both Belarus and Ukraine.
Russian officials disclosed that the four principal attackers of the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk were apprehended as they "attempted to evade capture, moving towards Ukraine." According to Putin, Ukraine had supposedly arranged a "window" for their border crossing during this period.
"They saw the checkpoints and turned back"
"Belarus promptly erected border checkpoints, thwarting the fugitives' escape," Lukashenko, as quoted by the state agency BelTA, explained. "Upon seeing them, they reversed course and veered towards the Ukrainian-Russian border," he detailed.
The devastating terrorist onslaught, resulting in at least 139 fatalities and over 180 injuries, was attributed to the Afghan faction of Islamic State. Putin, while labeling the assailants as "radical Islamists" on Monday, emphasized the need to investigate their attempted flight to Ukraine.
"Putin and other scum consistently endeavor to deflect blame onto others," Volodymyr Zelensky remarked on Saturday. He suggested that the Russian leader delayed his response to the attack, deliberating on how to link it with Ukraine. "It's utterly predictable," the President of Ukraine concluded.
