--Update on the ‘Crocus City Hall’ massacre
Finally a substantial feed of information on the massacre is being released to the public by Russian official news channels including RT. Moreover at 15.00 Moscow time, President Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on this tragedy. In what follows I will provide relevant facts and my own commentary.
First, as was expected, the death toll has risen sharply from first news last night. It now stands at 143 and may go still higher. Most of the victims apparently died from gunshot wounds. Some died from asphyxiation linked to smoke from the fire on the premises which the attackers lit with incendiary devices. The event under attack was a rock concert that was about to begin and many of those killed were children and adolescents, a fact which, rightly or wrongly, Russians consider particularly heinous.
We know that 11 of those responsible were apprehended, including the four who committed the murders in the auditorium. They were caught in a forest of the Bryansk province, following a car chase and exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers when they tried to evade a roadside control. They were driving their Renault car in the direction of the Ukrainian border.
We are told that several at least are citizens of the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan, although Tajik authorities deny that their people were involved. Representatives of the Islamic State terrorist organization have claimed responsibility, although that by itself says nothing about ultimate directions from Ukraine.
One of the terrorists revealed under police interrogation that they were paid 500,000 rubles for the attack, amounting to a paltry $5,000. Another 500,000 was to be paid later, following the attack, but it is safe to assume that the paymasters never expected that half to be paid out.
Vladimir Putin’s address to the nation was calm and non-accusatory with respect to the puppet masters behind the atrocity, though he did drop a couple of hints as to who they are, which I will mention in a minute.
For those who want to listen to his 5 minute speech, here is the link:
The title of this news item gives you the first hint - “Putin: there is information about the preparation of an escape window for the murderers on the Ukrainian side”
Otherwise, Putin’s opening words were of comfort to the bereaved and relatives of those wounded. We know from other sources that the Moscow and Moscow regional authorities have announced compensation to be paid to all victims and their relatives.
Putin put the attack in the context of global terrorism and did not specifically name anyone. He said that what was planned was a mass murder, a kind of ‘demonstrative execution’ such as were committed by the Nazis under Hitler. We may call this hint number two in the direction of Ukraine.
Tomorrow has been declared a national day of mourning in Russia. The Culture Ministry has cancelled all events involving large gatherings of people and cities across Russia have declared heightened security measures. Indeed the situation at the Crocus City Hall was exceedingly lax: there were no armed guards. The security people had only wooden clubs, not firearms, and they apparently were in their quarters when they were tracked down by the assailants and murdered first before they proceeded to the auditorium.
Let there be no confusion here: the tragedy yesterday is a turning point in the war. I remain persuaded that it was an American sanctioned or directed provocation intended to elicit the violent response that I mentioned in my last essay – a Russian strike on Kiev with intent to decapitate the Zelensky regime.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2024
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