What is Putin's Role in the Terrorist Attack in Russia?

What is Putin’s Role in the Terrorist Attack in Russia?

TOPSHOT – In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin lights a candle during his visit to a church of the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on March 24, 2024, during a national day of mourning following the attack in the Crocus City Hall, which has been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. Camouflaged assailants opened fire at the packed Crocus City Hall in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk on March 22, 2024, ahead of a concert by Soviet-era rock band Piknik in the deadliest attack in Russia for at least a decade. (Photo by Mikhail METZEL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MIKHAIL METZEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Posted: March 26th, 2024

By Glenn Corn

Glenn Corn is a former Senior Executive in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who worked for 34 years in the U.S. Intelligence, Defense, and Foreign Affairs communities. He spent over 17 years serving overseas and served as the U.S. President’s Senior Representative on Intelligence and Security issues. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of World Politics.

OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On the night of March 22, four masked individuals armed with automatic weapons entered the Crocus City Hall in the Russian capital of Moscow and opened fire a crowd of individuals, killing over a 133, wounding many more and sending hundreds of people fleeing from the scene of this terrorist attack.

After the incident, the terrorists reportedly fled the scene in a white Renault sedan and were suspected of fleeing into a wooded area on the outskirts of Moscow. By March 23, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that Russian authorities had detained 15 individuals suspected of being involved in the attack, including the four gunmen. Not surprisingly, the FSB also claimed that the suspects were apprehended as they were attempting to flee Russia in the direction of Ukraine, where they expected to be met by facilitators – a subtle way of implying that the Ukrainian Government was linked to the attack.

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