Russia wants to find the "client" who ordered the terrorist attack in Moscow

Vladimir Putin admitted, three days after the attack in Moscow, that the terrorist act was committed by ISIS militants, but continues to point the finger at Ukraine, as the main supporter of the massacre that took place in the Russian capital.

The Russian president said in a statement given to public television: "We know that the crimes were committed by radical Islamists, who have an ideology that the Islamic world has been trying to fight against for centuries. We also see that the United States of America, through various channels, is trying to convince its allies and other states of the world that there is no involvement of Kiev in the terrorist attack in Moscow. We know who committed this atrocity against Russia and its people. But we want to know who the "client" is.

Putin's statement did not go without a reaction from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said: "Putin spoke on his own again, which was broadcast on television. Again he accused Ukraine. He is a sick and cynical creature. In his mind, everyone is a terrorist except him, despite the fact that he has fed on terror for two decades. He and his special services. When he is gone, terror and violence will be gone."

Vladimir Putin's statements are also supported by Dmitryi Medvedev, the vice-president of the National Security Council, who stated in a post on the Telegram network: "Everyone is asking me: what do we do next? The terrorists were caught. Well done to all who caught them. Should they be killed? Definitely. And they will be. But it's far more important to kill everyone involved. To everyone, to those who paid, to those who sympathized, to those who helped. They must all be killed."

At the same time, ISIS sent a threatening message to President Vladimir Putin, following the images published by the Russian media in which the four terrorists appear with traces of torture.

The message published by the British media reads: "To all the wild Russians! Stop torturing Islamic State prisoners! Be careful! Do not think that we have no opportunity to take revenge on you for our captured brothers. In Friday's attack, we proved to you that, with the will of Allah, the Islamic State mujahedin can punish you for any of your horrors. Torturing captured Mujahideen in your name and publishing their videos increases the bloodlust of thousands of their brothers. This time, we will hit you so hard at a high level that future generations, Allah willing, will remember. Yes! Very heavy, deadly, bloody, stabbing, burning and devastating blows. Wait! Expect a massacre, Allah willing. Very soon, God willing."

Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of Russia, said yesterday, during a press conference held before the meeting of the General Prosecutor's Office, that Ukraine is behind the terrorist attack at Crocus Hall, according to Ria Novosti.

Asked if ISIS or Ukraine was behind the terrorist attack, Patrushev answered without hesitation: "Of course, Ukraine."

For his part, the director of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said that the "mastermind" behind the terrorist attack has not yet been identified. At the same time, according to him, the FSB knows that the training of militants from the Middle East was carried out by Ukraine.

The FSB director, quoted by the Interfax news agency, said: "The customer has not yet been identified. We understand and see those who organized this process, who recruited and set specific tasks. In the future, we will do everything necessary to identify the direct organizers and specific customers."

According to the cited source, he added that the US warnings about imminent terrorist attacks in Russia are of a general nature and that is why the special services did not react to those warnings.

Alexander Bortnikov also said that the terrorist attack was prepared by radical Islamists, but noted that Ukrainian special services provided the necessary support. The head of the FSB noted that the terrorist attack was used by Western intelligence services to incite and create panic in russian society. Beyond the war of declarations, we also have certain things. The Russian daily Kommersant announced yesterday that the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are allowing the examination of the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty, that is, an analysis on the reintroduction of this penalty in Russia, and that they will make a decision in the coming days. Discussions on this topic arose after the terrorist attack at Crocus Hall, and the first politician to speak out for the death penalty for the guilty was Mihail Sherment, deputy in the State Duma, later his statement was also taken up by Dmitry Medvedev, the vice president of the National Security Council of the Russian Federation. The leader of the United Russia party, Vladimir Vasiliev, said that the return of such a punishment "will meet the mood and expectations" of society. The return of the death penalty was also supported by the head of the party A Just Russia - For Truth, Sergei Mironov, and the head of the LDPR, Leonid Slutsky. The President of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that in order to lift the moratorium there is no need to organize a referendum, a decision of the Constitutional Court being sufficient.

Instead, members of the political opposition argue that reintroducing the death penalty in Russia will lead to Vladimir Putin suppressing all leaders who disagree with him, all under the cover of the law.

The head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said yesterday, according to the Kommersant publication, that the SBU (secret service of Ukraine) should be defined as a terrorist organization. The FSB chief also said that Kirill Budanov - the head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate - is a legitimate target for the Russian Armed Forces, like everyone else who commits crimes against Russia.

"All those who commit crimes against Russia and Russian citizens are legitimate targets," the FSB director said.

Also yesterday, the Moscow Court ordered the arrest in absentia of Vasily Malyuk, head of the SBU, whom it accuses of carrying out a terrorist attack. According to the Kommersant publication, it is the explosion caused by a truck bomb on the Kerch bridge that connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula, an attack that took place in 2022.