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The chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, has implicated the United States, Britain, and Ukraine in a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.

In a statement to the media following a meeting of the Prosecutor General’s Office board, Bortnikov expressed his belief in the involvement of these nations, citing “factual information” that supports the accusation. Bortnikov said, “We believe that this is true. In any case, we are now talking about the factual information we have. This is general information, but they have a long record of this sort.”

Despite his claims, the United States, UK, France, and other Western nations have blamed ISIS for the attack and have warned that the Kremlin is trying to use this attack as propaganda on its people. Roughly a month before the attack, the United States publicly warned that they had credible information regarding a potential attack by extremist groups operating within Russia. Following these warnings, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of pushing false information to scare people.

Russia’s blame on Ukraine:
When asked if Bortnikov believed that Ukraine was “capable” of carrying out a terrorist attack, he said, “What is it expected to do to demonstrate its capability? It is expected to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts in the rear. This is what both the chiefs of Ukraine’s special services and the British special services are aiming at. US special services have repeatedly mentioned this, too. There have been drone strikes, strikes by uncrewed boats at sea, and incursions by groups of saboteurs and terrorist organizations into our territory.”