Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Wednesday gave an interview to Russian state-run English language media wherein she continued to advance the Kremlin's claims that the Ukrainian government or its Western partners likely had something to do with the the Crocus City Hall terror attack.
She described that it was strange that a Western media narrative coalesced around ISIS being behind the attack even as the mall and concert hall was still on fire and emergency crews were still responding. She said the US government has backed itself "into a corner" given that officials made bold statements too quickly in the aftermath.
"The very fact that within the first 24 hours [after the attack], even before the fire was put out, the Americans started screaming that it wasn't Ukraine, I think, is a piece of incriminating evidence. I can't classify it otherwise; it is evidence in and of itself," Zakharova told Sputnik.
"The second fact to note concerns the clamor by the US that this assuredly was the work of ISIS," Zakharova emphasized. "Of course, the speed with which they were able to [come to such forthright conclusions] is astonishing. It took them only a few hours to get to a microphone, turn on the lights, summon the press, and draw a conclusion about who is to blame for this horribly bloody terrorist attack."
She underscored that all of this demonstrates that US officials "boxed themselves into a corner" because it allowed independent analysts to "[remind] everyone else what ISIS really is." By that, she meant the recent history of the US/Gulf alliance in Syria having fueled the rise of ISIS:
"You are behind all those ISIS-type structures; you – the United States, Great Britain – yourselves brought them into being," she concluded.
During the decade-long proxy war in Syria, the West backed the side that produced the Islamic State. In many instances, the US was even paying the salaries of "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) commanders who were openly cooperating and fighting alongside ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorists.
Kremlin officials have strongly suggested that ISIS militants were used as proxies for the Friday attack in Moscow on behalf of the Ukrainian or possibly Western governments or intelligence agencies.
On Wednesday the official death toll from Russian authorities in the wake of the terror attack on the Moscow concert hall has reached 140 killed, after more people succumbed to their wounds in the hospital.
In the days following the Crocus City Hall attack, Russian state media has been featuring stories on the 'rise of ISIS' and the West-sponsored jihad in Syria:
The US - Godfather Of ISIS?
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) March 27, 2024
While Washington firmly pins blame for the Crocus City Hall attack on ISIS, apparently shielding Ukraine from accusations, RT reveals how Islamic State's targets over the last few years have raised some interesting questions… pic.twitter.com/aNmIWVy1HH
President Vladimir Putin in addressing the terror attack over the weekend vowed to hunt down and punish all perpetrators while also charging that Ukraine prepared a "window" to help the terrorists escape. Since then several more arrests of alleged collaborators and plotter have been made. As for the culprits possibly receiving assistance from Ukraine or Western governments, there's as yet been no clear evidence presented that demonstrates a connection.
