Russia and the US are at war over whether Ukraine was involved in the terrorist attack in Moscow.
(Baonghean.vn) - Official spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that any statement by the US government about Ukraine's non-involvement in the terrorist attack in Crocus City, made before the investigation is completed, must be considered evidence.
“Until the investigation into the terrorist attack in Crocus is completed, any statements from Washington justifying Kiev must be considered evidence. It is clear that the funding of terrorist activities by the Kiev organized crime group by American liberal democrats has been going on for many years,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
According to RT, this is how the Russian diplomat commented on the statement of Adrienne Watson, the official representative of the US National Security Council, with the affirmation that Ukraine had nothing to do with the tragic events of March 22 in Russia.
“IS bears full responsibility for this attack. Ukraine had nothing to do with it,” Watson said in a statement carried by Western media.
In addition to Watson, US Vice President Kamala Harris also made a similar statement in an interview with ABC News. At the same time, Ms. Harris blamed the incident on IS-K, the self-proclaimed Islamic State branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to Ms. Zakharova, over the past decades, the American political elite has “become proficient in diverting attention from high-profile crimes and staging them in all sorts of clever ways.”
RT said that immediately after information about the tragedy in Crocus City appeared, the strategic coordinator at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, declared Kiev's innocence.
“At this point, there is nothing to suggest that Ukraine or Ukrainians were involved in the attack. The information just came in and we are looking into it. But at this early stage, there is no connection between the terrorist attack and Ukraine,” Mr. John Kirby said at a press conference on March 23 in the US.
Responding to John Kirby's statement, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that such a reaction by the US administration to the terrorist attack in the Moscow region raises big questions.
“On what basis do officials in Washington draw conclusions about the innocence of anyone amid the tragedy? This is a big question. If the United States or any other country has reliable data on this issue, it must be immediately passed on to the Russian side. Without such data, neither the White House nor anyone else has the right to grant pardons to anyone,” the Russian diplomat said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Notably, after declaring that Ukraine was not involved in the terrorist attack, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson wrote on her social networking site X on March 23 that Washington had allegedly warned Moscow about terrorist attacks being prepared on Russian territory.
According to Ms. Maria Zakharova, in early March 2024, the US government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow, possibly targeting large gatherings, including concerts, prompting the Russian Foreign Ministry to issue a public warning to Americans in Russia. "The US government also shared this information with the Russian government in accordance with the country's long-standing policy of 'duty to warn,'" Ms. Maria Zakharova said.
TASS news agency later quoted a source in the Russian special services as reporting that the data transmitted by the US was of a general nature. According to the source, “such information did indeed arrive,” but it “did not contain any technical specifications.”
Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov affirmed that Washington did not transfer any relevant intelligence information to Russia, before or after the terrorist attack.
According to RIA Novosti on March 25, Ms. Zakharova said that "whether they like it or not, the US has had a hand in the establishment of the IS terrorist group" - an organization that carries out uncontrolled terrorist attacks and massacres around the world.
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, as of March 24, 137 people have died; 110 victims of the terrorist attack are being treated in hospitals. The cleanup of the scene is still ongoing.
