Russia no longer pushing Ukrainian link to Moscow concert hall massacre

Russian authorities appear to have quietly lost interest in pushing the idea that Ukraine was somehow connected to the worst terrorist attack in Russia of the last two decades. On the first anniversary of the Crocus City Hall massacre, officials barely mentioned the alleged Ukrainian link — something which they never provided any evidence for, but was nonetheless talked up by President Vladimr Putin in the days after the attack.

• March 22 was the first anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in Russia for 20 years — the massacre at the Crocus City Hall concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow. Masked gunmen opened fire on spectators at a rock concert then set the building on fire in an attack that killed 145 and wounded more than 1,000. In the days after the atrocity, Putin spoke about a “Ukrainian trace” to the attack, even though it had been claimed by Islamic State and the suspects were all citizens of Tajikistan. No evidence was ever presented for the alleged involvement by Kyiv, with the fact the suspected gunmen were arrested while apparently trying to flee Russia to the west — either into Belarus or Ukraine — the only thing proponents of the “Ukrainian trace” theory could concretely point to.
• Russia has arrested 19 people, including the four alleged perpetrators, with the case materials running to 420 volumes. The investigation has concluded but the case has not yet been brought to trial as the defense team has not sifted through the material, said Oleg Vlasov, one of the defense lawyers. The final version of the investigation concluded that the terrorists were recruited by the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch, an Afghan-based offshoot of the jihadist group, he said. However, the location of those who ordered the attack is unknown. After carrying out the massacre, the perpetrators were ordered to remain in place and “meet” the security services, the Russian investigation alleged. But instead they refused and tried to escape. Vlasov said he believes the coordinators of the attack intended for the gunmen to be killed when law enforcement arrived on the scene, thus wiping out the possibility of interrogations. 
• When the organizers realised the gunmen had fled, they advised them to head for Ukraine, Vlasov said — but were given no instructions about how to cross the border. The lawyer thinks it is possible that the organizers hoped they would be shot by patrols on either side of the border. Meanwhile, the day after the attack, Putin claimed that a “window” had been prepared for the gunmen to cross the border into Ukraine and FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said that they were “expected” in Ukraine.
• On the anniversary of the terrorist attack, Russian officials did not appear bothered about trying to double down on the claims of Ukrainian involvement. In a statement on Telegram, Russia’s Investigative Committee said the attack was planned and organized by the “security services of an unfriendly state with the aim of destabilizing the situation in Russia.” They did not specify which state they had in mind.

Why the world should care

Amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Crocus City Hall terror attack quickly faded from view. It seems that even the authorities have forgotten how, in the aftermath of the massacre, they tried to persuade everyone that Kyiv was involved.