A complaint filed by lawmakers last week was deemed credible enough for a formal inquiry
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a probe into allegations that Ukraine and its Western backers are involved in terrorist activities on Russian soil; these were supported by some MPs and public figures last week.
The law enforcement body announced on Monday that it was moving forward with the procedural investigation after reviewing the claims. The initial complaint, which the Committee confirmed receiving last Wednesday, identified the US and its allies as allegedly driving a string of attacks on Russian soil. The agency is looking into the purported “organization, financing and conduct of terrorist acts” by those nations.
Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party, one of the MPs who filed the complaint, insisted that Western nations “benefited” from the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow earlier this month. He reasoned that the geopolitical opponents of Russia stood to gain from the tragedy on Russian soil, and counted “on their inaccessibility and impunity.”
A total of 12 people – including the four gunmen, believed to be radical Islamists – have so far been arrested in connection to one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country’s history.
Over 140 people were killed in the shooting spree and arson attack just outside of Moscow. The Afghanistan-based offshoot of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) has claimed credit for the strike. However, Russian officials claim to have uncovered evidence of possible Ukrainian involvement, contrary to US assurances that Kiev could not have been behind the attack.
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