Russian authorities have alleged that Ukraine was behind the deadly Crocus City Hall attack in March 2024, claiming one of the perpetrators testified that the assault had been ordered by a Ukrainian state institution.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, one of the four main suspects captured after the attack said that upon informing their handler the operation had been completed, they were told it had been commissioned by Ukrainian authorities and that they were instructed to flee to Ukraine via the border.
The attacker further stated that the weapons used during the operation had been smuggled into Russia from Ukrainian territory. The four gunmen were eventually apprehended in Russia’s Bryansk region near the border, where Russian officials had previously reported a group was stationed to help facilitate their crossing.
The Crocus City Hall attack took place on March 22, 2024, in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow. Gunmen stormed the packed concert venue, killing at least 145 people and injuring more than 550 in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on Russian soil in recent memory.
Responsibility was claimed by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP), the Afghanistan-based branch of ISIS. However, the Russian government has consistently suggested that a state actor was ultimately behind the planning and coordination of the assault.
Just days after the incident, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov alleged that Ukrainian and Western "curators" had helped organize the attack. On the same day, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev declared, “Ukraine was behind the terrorist attack in Crocus.”
The four main attackers were all citizens of Tajikistan. Russian authorities have also arrested 11 additional suspects within Russia and 9 more in Tajikistan in connection with the operation.
The so-called “coordinator” of the attack, described as a liaison between Ukrainian intelligence and ISIS-K, is known to Russian officials only by the alias “Saifullo.” His true identity remains unknown.