Vladimir Putin, Russia | Media: Even Putin’s inner circle doubts the president’s claim

Several of Vladimir Putin’s close allies reject the president’s claim that Ukraine was involved in the terrorist attack in Moscow.

On Friday, four armed men stormed into a concert in the Crocus City Hall concert arena where they started shooting around. 140 people were killed and over 100 injured.

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Putin himself was present

The American newspaper Bloomberg writes that they have spoken to four people with close ties to the Kremlin.

They are informed by their sources that only a few in Russia’s economic and political elite believe that Ukraine was behind the attack.

The newspaper writes that this was discussed during a meeting where it was agreed that there was no connection to Ukraine to trace. Putin himself attended this meeting.

Nevertheless, Putin has publicly been clear that he believes Ukraine was involved in the attack. The president has said that the attack was carried out by radical Islamists, but that the attack was part of Ukraine’s attack on Russia.

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The head of Russia’s intelligence service (FSB) and the head of the Russian Security Council have also stated that they believe Ukraine was somehow involved in the terrorist attack.

– We believe that the act was carried out both by the radical Islamists themselves and was supported by Western intelligence services, said FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov to the state-run news agency Tass.

In addition to believing that Ukraine was involved, Bortnikov also advocates that Great Britain and the United States were involved.

On Wednesday, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, continued to cast doubt that IS alone was behind the terrorist attack in Moscow.

– It is extremely difficult to believe that IS has had the capacity to carry out the terrorist attack, Zakharova said at a press conference.

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Shocked by failing security

Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the attack, including four Tajik men who are said to have carried out the attack itself. From the Russian side, it has been claimed that the perpetrators were arrested near the border, while they were on their way to Ukraine by car. Whether this is true has not been proven.

The British newspaper The Telegraph is informed by its sources in the Kremlin that they are shocked by the failing security efforts, which were supposed to prevent such an attack from taking place.

Shortly after the attack in Moscow, IS came out and claimed responsibility. That IS is behind the attack is something that is also supported by statements from American intelligence, which in the weeks leading up issued a warning that such an attack could take place in Moscow in the near future.

It is said to be IS’s Afghan or Central Asian wing, known as ISIS-K or ISKP, which was behind the attack.

Ukraine has denied all along that it had anything to do with the attack.