Moscow sees Ukraine connection in attack: How credible are the allegations? | DW News

At least 115 people are now known to have been killed in an

attack

on a concert hall near Moscow and officials warn the death toll could rise further. Investigators have announced a series of arrests. Four people directly involved in the

attack

have been arrested so far. - so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility a warning the following report contains images that could be distressing hours after the attack Rescuers are finally able to enter the building amid the rubble and devastation much of the building has burned Russian authorities say the fire It started after the gunman dropped the venue into the flammable liquid as fire and smoke engulfed the concert venue, some hiding in the rows couldn't make it out as we left the concert hall and entered the utility room.

I heard pops, but they weren't some kind of large scale explosions, they were some kind of Pops, maybe it was some kind of small explosive and there was also a burning smell. I got the impression that they probably wanted to somehow concentrate a lot of people inside and also have a big fire to be able to do it. I don't go out, I have the feeling that the investigators confiscated the weapons and ammunition left by the attackers. Witnesses say the gunman fired non-stop after breaking into the building. Special Forces continue to work at the scene studying evidence and CCTV footage.

Public events have been canceled across the country. Russia, as the country faces one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in decades, let's learn more about the story of Yuri Retto, DW's AR bureau chief, who has been reporting from the Latvian capital since Russian authorities closed the DW in Moscow. Greetings. Yuri, what has been the reaction in Moscow to the attack? Well, Michael, as for official reactions, President Putin has not yet made a public statement. He sent his well-being wishes to the victims' authorities through the deputy head of the government. Even though his statement was announced yesterday and then surprisingly cancelled.

As for people's reaction, people are surprised and ask a lot of questions, of course, according to the latest data, you said it. 115 people died. The causes of death were gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation from the fire. Here, of course, many people wonder why the person who died from the smoke could not leave the building in time and why she was not rescued in time by the emergency services. Once again, the militant group called the Islamic State claimed responsibility for why it would attack. Moscow, there is a video from IS or the Islamic State that claims responsibility, in fact its authenticity has been verified by some Western experts, but that is important, the Russian authorities have not yet confirmed that this is an official version, yes is really behind the attack.

It was clearly a revenge of the Islamists for the fact that Russia has fought quite a bit against the Islamic State in recent years in Syria, for example, where the Russian army supports the ruler Assad, there the Russians have also fought, but also in Afghanistan . And let me remind you that in recent decades, in the largely Muslim regions of the North Caucasus, underground militias have repeatedly been fighting against the Russian state. I'm curious as to what you report: is there any

credible

connection

between this attack and the war in Ukraine? a

connection

that some in Moscow are supposedly making, yes in fact many in Russia and even officials see a Ukrainian trail and supposedly the alleged terrorist wanted to flee to Ukraine or Belarus when they were captured by Russian intelligence yes of course this information it's true.

What is obvious here is that some heavily armed men wanted to kill ordinary people. There was no political demand, there was no hostage taking and everything seems pure revenge. We don't know who took revenge and what Kev's official reaction was. Ukraine had nothing to do with this Russian propaganda

sees

it differently, the Kremlin has so far remained silent Yuri, a question that no doubt some in Russia might ask is how security could have been breached to this extent in Moscow, right after, by the way. of Putin's re-election absolutely this is exactly Michael the question that people in Russia are asking and yes it is quite obvious that Moscow is not protected from a terrorist attack just like Berlin London Paris Brussels has not been protected in recent years uh two uh this attack has obviously been well prepared um heavily armed men kill security people with machine guns and wildly shoot innocent people uh you can't protect yourself against that the question is more why these heavily armed men were able to carry out their crime without obstacles why the secret services did not discover these men much earlier or prevent the attack.

It seems that the Russian state has invested a lot in the fight against Russian political dissidents and has neglected the fight against terrorism. That's what DW's Ria bureau chief Yuri Retto says, as always, thank you very much, Yuri. The German government condemned the Moscow attack, Foreign Minister Analena Barbach described it as a cowardly and inhuman act of terrorism and Chancellor Olaf Schultz said in families of the victims and all those injured