The Moscow Times reports that Vladimir Putin, fresh off another re-election, has for the first time accused "radical Islamists" for the March 22 terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall that left 137 people dead. He also reaffirms his claim that Ukraine was involved and indicates Washington is trying to cover up its involvement.
"We … see that the United States by various means is trying to convince its satellites, as well as other countries, that according to their intelligence information, there was allegedly no trace of Kyiv's [involvement] in the Moscow terrorist attack," he said in a televised meeting.
"Putin from the beginning has tried to deflect blame ultimately on what he labels as accomplices," responds Bob Maginnis, a senior fellow for national security at the Family Research Council (FRC).
"Those accomplices would be, of course, the people he decided at war against, and that is those in Ukraine, Kyiv, and then by association the U.S."
Russian intelligence has also indicated that it has the suspects in Ukraine who were trying to cross into Ukrainian space. That is a possibility Maginnis does not totally discount, but he says it is "hard to know."
Meanwhile, FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned that the U.S. must be on guard for similar threats from terrorist organizations.
But as for Putin's claims, the analyst does not think anyone in Ukraine or the U.S. will give them much thought.
The Islamic State's affiliate ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in Russia since the 2003 Beslan school siege, and social media channels linked to the militant group have published graphic videos of the gunmen committing the mass killing at the popular music venue.
