Close allies of Vladimir Putin reportedly refuse to believe his claim that Ukraine was involved in the Moscow terrorist attack last week that left at least 137 people dead, writers Cameron Henderson.
Kremlin officials were shocked by the failure of the security services to prevent the massacre last Friday, when four men opened fire at concertgoers at Crocus City Hall, Bloomberg reported, citing four people with close ties to the Kremlin.
But barely anyone within Russia’s political or business elite believes Kyiv was behind the attack, the report said, despite Putin repeatedly claiming that the men were attempting to flee across the border into Ukraine when they were apprehended.
According to one source, who was unnamed, Putin was present at discussions where officials agreed there was no connection to Kyiv.
On Monday, Putin acknowledged that radical Islamists had carried out the worst terrorist attack in Russia in two decades, but repeated his unproven claim that Ukraine was also involved.