The Russian investigative committee investigating the attack states, based on preliminary conclusions, that the attackers had ties to ‘Ukrainian nationalists’. In addition, they are said to have received significant amounts of (crypto) money from Ukraine.
The committee did not provide evidence for the claims, just as Russian authorities did not do so with previous allegations of Ukrainian involvement. Ukraine strongly denies the allegations.
The Russian accusations appear to be a pretext to blame Ukraine for last week’s attack, which killed 140 people. Almost immediately after the attack, Russia pointed the finger at Ukraine, even though the Islamic State claimed responsibility for it. According to Moscow, the Americans and the British were also involved.
The United States claims to have warned Russia of an impending attack. US security spokesman John Kirby said today that Russian security services have received a written warning from their American counterparts. He dismissed the Russian accusations of American involvement as ‘nonsense’.
Tags: Russia accuses Ukraine involvement attack
