Sources within Ukraine's Special Services told Kyiv Post that the Kremlin is poised to formally accuse Vasyl Maliuk, the Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), of orchestrating the attack on Crocus City Hall. He has also been identified as the Kremlin's primary target.
According to these sources, Vladimir Putin "has not forgiven the SBU for the two strikes on the Crimean bridge," particularly the first strike, which was timed to coincide with the Russian president's birthday, as well as the attacks carried out by Sea Baby drones on Russian vessels.
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"Another sensitive area where the SBU has made significant impact is the country's refineries and gas stations. Additionally, the Service has been effectively countering Russian agents within Ukraine," the source said.
"Therefore, the detained Tajiks, who were tortured following the attack, will conveniently be found to possess 'Maliuk's business cards'," the source added.
On Friday, March 22, gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, killing 143 concertgoers.
Four attack suspects – all from Tajikistan, according to Russian state media – are under arrest along with several suspected accomplices.
The attack was swiftly claimed by Islamic State. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the involvement of “radical Islamists,” he continued to accuse Kyiv of aiding the suspects’ escape into Ukraine, a claim Kyiv categorically denied.
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Individuals from Russian intelligence circles also claimed the West and Ukraine were to blame for the attack, although they did not provide any supporting evidence.
A Bloomberg article reported that Putin’s inner circle does not believe his rhetoric that Ukraine was involved in the deadly concert hall attack in Moscow on March 22. However, they suggest that Putin plans to leverage the tragedy to mobilize public support for the war with Ukraine.
The United States disclosed that it had issued both public and private warnings to Russia in early March regarding extremist plans to target a concert hall in Moscow.
Unnamed US intelligence officials later disclosed to American media outlets that they specifically warned Moscow about the Crocus City Hall being the target of an IS attack.
Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the information provided by US agencies was only of “a general nature.”
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