Two suspects have admitted their guilt following the terror attack at a Moscow concert venue on Friday, which resulted in the tragic loss of at least 137 lives. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed doubts regarding the motives of the alleged assailants.
Each of the four suspects was detained and charged with committing a collective terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of others, a felony punishable by up to life in prison. Everyone appeared in court with noticeable injuries.
Russian investigators claimed at least three children were among those murdered in the attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall.
As of Monday morning, another 182 individuals had been hurt, with at least 97 being hospitalized in hospitals, according to the Russian Investigative Committee. Many victims are still to be identified.
ISIS-K, a group affiliated with the Islamic State, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Amaq, the Islamic State group’s press agency, released footage it claimed was from a body camera.
Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32, and Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30, have pleaded guilty, according to the Moscow court’s press service. The other two suspects were identified as Shamsidin Fariduni, 25, and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19. All four men are Tajik citizens, according to Russian officials.
Putin said that after the terrorist incident, the four suspects traveled to the Ukrainian border, but neither Putin nor the Kremlin offered proof to support this assertion.
Videos aired on Russian state television purported to show people being detained by Federal Security Service, or FSB, officers near the highway connecting Moscow to Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied that his country was complicit in the attack.
“What happened in Moscow yesterday is obvious, and Putin and other scum are trying to shift the blame to someone else,” he told reporters on Saturday.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, claimed Monday that the Russian government had “no contacts” with Western leaders following the terror assault.
“There are no contacts with the West right now,” Peskov stated, according to TASS, the state-run news agency.
