The Russian authorities' claims that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack near Moscow intended to escape to Ukraine are, of course, nonsense, said Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, on Saturday. As he noted, the Russian-Ukrainian border is currently the area where the most security forces are located, and the land is mined. He also addressed the issue of whether this attack would have an impact on the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that the suspects in the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow wanted to escape to Ukraine. On Saturday, Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), referred to these claims in an interview for the RBC-Ukraine station.
READ MORE ABOUT THE COUP IN RUSSIA: Shooting and explosions in a concert hall near Moscow. Killed and wounded
– This information is obviously nonsense – he said. – Everyone in the world understands this, except maybe the artificially possessed Russian population – he said. He pointed out that active hostilities were taking place in the Belgorod and Kursk regions of Russia.
– You don't need to be a security expert for this (…) Let's imagine that more than two years after the outbreak of a full-scale invasion, terrorists are fleeing towards the border territories, which are currently most saturated with security forces, representatives of special services and simply the army. The border line is mined and surveillance is being carried out by all means, including from the air, from both sides, he said on Ukrainian television.
An officer of the Russian services at the scene of the attack PAP/EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
“The internal level of hysteria may increase”
The HUR representative recalled that the Russian special services have experience in organizing terrorist attacks on their territory. – Everything indicates that we are dealing with such activities by the Russian services. Moreover, it is quite likely that hysteria will grow, the screws will be tightened and even the formal remnants of civil rights and liberties will be eliminated, Yusov said.
The HUR representative expressed the opinion that Friday's attack in a concert hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow, which killed at least 133 people, will have no impact on the war in Ukraine.
– Mobilization activities on the territory of the aggressor state have not stopped for a single day. Therefore, globally it will not affect anything. But yes, the internal degree of hysteria and internal mobilization in Russia may indeed increase, although the rhetoric of propagandists is already as neo-Nazi and aggressive as possible. You can't go any further, it's hard to imagine, he said.
Destruction after a terrorist attack on a concert hall near MoscowPAP/EPA/RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITEE H HANDOUT
According to Yusov, Russia will now try to use the attack to change its image on the international arena. – He will try to transform himself from an aggressor into a victim – he explained. – Despite the fact that the world warned about the threat of such incidents on the territory of the Russian Federation, the Putin regime either did nothing to prevent it or is itself involved in organizing these terrorist acts – emphasized the HUR representative.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV