The latest news on the war between Russia and Ukraine | Wilnesh News

Russian officials continue to accuse the West and Ukraine of involvement in last Friday’s attack on Krokus city hall that killed 139 people.

Ukraine has denied any involvement and the White House said on Sunday that “Islamic State bears full responsibility for this attack,” using the acronym for the militant group that said it was behind the attack. White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson added that “Ukraine had no involvement whatsoever.”

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that the United States’ initial rejection of Ukraine’s involvement in anything was suspicious and said the Islamic State group was created by the West.

“The fact that within the first 24 hours of the attack, before Americans even had time to put out the fires, they started shouting that this is not Ukraine, I think that’s evidence. I can’t classify this in any other way, that in itself That’s the proof,” Zakharova told Sputnik radio. TASS reports.

“The second point is that the United States is saying loud and clear that this is absolutely the banned terrorist organization ISIS,” Zakharova said. “The speed with which they did all this is amazing,” she added.

“It seems to me that they have driven themselves into an absolute dead end because once they start shouting that it is ISIS, all those who deal with international relations, political scientists and experts, remember and ask others to remember, What is ISIS?” she said.

Zakharova claimed: “You are the mastermind behind the ‘Islamic State’. You – the United States and the United Kingdom created them yourself.” Russia has repeatedly accused the West of fueling instability in the Middle East and ignored its own history of wars in the region and against Muslims. The most recent were the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the two Chechen wars in the 1990s and early 2000s.

— holly Eliat

Russia sees no opportunity for Switzerland to lead efforts to secure peace in Ukraine, its top diplomat said on Tuesday, after Bern said it planned to host a high-level peace conference in Ukraine in the coming months.

Swiss authorities have said Russia is unlikely to participate, at least not at the start of the talks.

“So far we don’t see any possibility of Switzerland taking the lead in organizing something,” Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said.

Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, said the Swiss initiative was doomed to fail without Moscow’s involvement.

Gatilov said that while Moscow was not opposed to talks to end the war, it would not participate in talks in Switzerland, which he said had abandoned its neutrality in the conflict.

Switzerland adopted EU sanctions in response to the Russian invasion and froze some 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.53 billion) in financial assets belonging to Russia, which Gadilov described as “stolen money.”

“That is why we believe that Bern has unfortunately degraded its status as a neutral country,” he said.

— Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the country’s Security Council, on Tuesday, according to Google Translate. decree Published on government website.

Danilov has held this position since October 2019. His position will now be held by Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service.

Zelensky made the decision shortly after replacing the head of the armed forces in a key military reshuffle, without giving any reason.

——Sophie Kidlin

The head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday that the United States, Britain and Ukraine were behind last week’s deadly terror attack in Moscow.

Russia’s FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov told pro-Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin that the United States, Britain and Ukraine were responsible for the attack, which he claimed would benefit Western intelligence services and Ukrainian sabotage. Russia is stable.

“We believe that this operation was prepared by radical Islamists themselves, that Western intelligence services naturally contributed to it, and that Ukrainian intelligence itself was directly related to it,” Bortnikov said. RIA Novosti reports.

Ukraine has strongly denied involvement in the attack, and the White House said Russia’s claims to the contrary were “Kremlin propaganda.” Britain, the United States and Ukraine have yet to comment on Bortnikov’s latest claims.

Nearly 140 people were killed when gunmen entered the Crocus Town Hall Concert Hall, opened fire and set fire to it. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility, but Russia quickly linked Ukraine to the atrocity without providing evidence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has since admitted that the attack was carried out by so-called “radical Islamists” but still claimed that Ukraine was involved in the attack.

Bortnikov reiterated Russia’s claim that the attackers were caught trying to flee to Ukraine, where he said they had received a “hero’s” welcome.

“The gangsters intend to leave the country. To be precise, the territory of Ukraine. According to our preliminary operational information, it is expected that they will go abroad,” he told Zarubin in a Russian-language interview posted on his website. telegram channel.

— Holly Elliot

One of the most powerful and influential figures in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle unequivocally claimed on Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for last Friday’s terror attack in Moscow.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev is responsible for issuing guidance and policy recommendations on national security issues. Russian journalists asked whether Ukraine or the Islamic State militant group were behind the attack that killed 139 people. The Islamic State group said it carried out the attack.

“Of course it’s Ukraine,” Patrushev replied to reporters. According to a Google Translate article by RIA Novosti.

Patrushev is a former intelligence officer and Kremlin ideological figurehead who is extremely close to Putin. Patrushev joined several senior Russian officials in blaming Ukraine but offered no evidence of Kiev’s involvement.

Ukraine itself denies any involvement in the attack. President Zelensky said it was “completely foreseeable” that Moscow would try to blame Ukraine.

Patrushev’s comments may indicate that Moscow is ready to step up accusations of links between Kiev and terrorists. Analysts said the Kremlin may use the attack to its own political advantage, anyway, perhaps to put Russian citizens on a stronger footing for the war ahead of possible further mobilization.

The Kremlin has so far been cautious about providing more details or evidence to support its claims of links. Putin’s press secretary declined to comment earlier Tuesday.

On Monday, Putin acknowledged that the attack was carried out by “radical Islamists” but again claimed a link to Ukraine, again without providing evidence.

— Holly Elliot

The Kremlin declined to comment on Tuesday on whether it believed there were links between the Ukrainian government and the gunman who killed 139 people in Friday’s terror attack at a Moscow concert hall.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov was asked on a call with reporters whether there were direct links between Ukraine and the “radical Islamists” behind the attacks, as President Vladimir Putin described them on Monday Like the suspects), Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said he had “nothing to add” that had already been said on the topic. “

“As to whether it can be said ‘one way or another’: you can say whatever you want. Observers and analysts may be able to afford it. But (…) while the investigation is ongoing, the official authorities cannot Interfax reported that Peskov told reporters: “I am not in a position to make any statement on this matter. “

“Although I advise you to carefully read the statements made by President Putin over the past two days. They are very important in this context,” Peskov said.

President Vladimir Putin said in a conference call with Kremlin officials on Monday that the attack was carried out by “radical Islamists,” but again claimed it was linked to Ukraine or, as Moscow described it, to Related to the “Kiev Trace”, U.S. intelligence agencies also said the attack was related to Ukraine. It would be unpersuasive to dismiss any connection.

Russia has provided no evidence of Ukrainian involvement, and Kyiv itself has strongly denied any involvement in the deadly attack on a concertgoer.

Eight suspects, nationals of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, have been remanded in custody and charged with terrorism offenses ahead of trial.

— Holly Elliot