Putin Says Terrorists Who Raided Moscow Concert Hall Tried to Escape to Ukraine, Kyiv Denies Involvement

Published on March 24, 2024

MOSCOW—The suburban Moscow music hall where gunmen opened fire on concertgoers was a blackened, smoldering ruin Saturday as the death toll in the attack surpassed 130 and Russian authorities arrested four suspects. President Vladimir Putin claimed they were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in Friday’s assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, and the ISIS terrorist group’s Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility. Mr. Putin did not mention ISIS in his speech to the nation, and Kyiv accused him and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervor for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which recently entered its third year....