Everyone behind Moscow terror attack will be punished – Putin
Vladimir Putin addressed the nation about the Crocus City Hall shooting, denouncing it as a “bloody and barbaric” terrorist attack and vowing to punish all involved.

The president declared a national day of mourning on Sunday, March 24 and said "additional anti-terrorist and anti-sabotage measures have been introduced in all regions of the country. The main thing now is to prevent those who are behind this bloodbath from committing a new crime. (...) As for the investigation of this crime and the results of operational investigative actions, the following can currently be said. All four direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack were found and detained. They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border. A total of 11 people were detained. The Federal Security Service of Russia and other law enforcement agencies are working to identify and uncover the entire terrorist support base: those who provided them with transport, planned escape routes from the crime scene, prepared caches of weapons and ammunition.
Criminals went to kill in cold blood, shoot Russians at point-blank range, as the Nazis once did. Terrorists, murderers who do not and cannot have a nationality, face one unenviable fate – retribution and oblivion. They have no future. Our common duty now, our comrades–in-arms at the front, all citizens of the country, is to be together in one formation. I believe it will be so, because no one and nothing can shake our unity and will, our determination and courage, the strength of the united people of Russia. No one will be able to sow the poisonous seeds of discord, panic and discord in our multinational society." Full transcript here http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73703 @LauraRuHK
https://t.me/rian_ru/237594

“Yes” from France, Italy & southern countries – “No” from the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark & Austria The discussion among European heads of state and government is expected to continue in the coming months. Brussels wants to build a military-industrial complex with public and private investments and the possibility of issuing Eurobonds for defense was one of the ideas under consideration.

However, the blocs that have formed seem reminiscent of those during the debt crisis. On the one hand, Northern countries, which do not embrace the idea of a common European fund to which they would contribute – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed opposition – and on the other hand, Southern countries such as France, Italy, and Greece. For the EU morphing into a military power is easier said than done. 😏 @LauraRuHK

In Moscow people continue to bring flowers to the Crocus City Hall. The death toll has risen to 137, according to the latest data of the Moscow Region Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. https://t.me/rian_ru/237722

In yesterday's address to the nation, Vladimir Putin pointed out that "terrorists do not and cannot have a nationality". That's correct. Terrorists are hired guns, mercenaries who carry out tasks set by those who pay them. ▪️Putin appealed to ALL citizens of Russia, a multinational, multi-faith country, because Russia's strength lies in the UNITY of its people. Russia's enemies have long tried to destroy that unity by exploiting ethnic and religious differences. ▪️Speaking of nationality, Khushbakht Tursunov was a native of Tajikistan, graduated from the Syzran Higher Military Aviation School as a foreign student.
He obtained Russian citizenship and signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence, becoming a Russian officer. He was murdered by Maxim Kuzminov, an ethnic Russian. The same traitor who stole a helicopter and defected to the enemy. @LauraRuHK
https://t.me/MaksLifeOff/15631

The recruitment of assassins for the terrorist attack in Moscow's Crocus City Hall was organized through the Embassy of Ukraine in Tajikistan, according to a military expert, ex-special services officer, retired Colonel Bakhtiyer Rakhmonov.

A few weeks before the terrorist attack, information appeared on the website of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission about inviting foreigners to join the so-called "International Legion," he noted, providing RIA Novosti with a corresponding screenshot.

The post has already been deleted.

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Western Banks Warn Against EU Plans To Give Russian Funds To Ukraine | ZeroHedge
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/western-banks-warn-against-eu-plans-give-russian-funds-ukraine

Today, on the day of national mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, another tragic and significant date is celebrated - exactly 25 years ago NATO began bombing Yugoslavia. The consequences were indeed irreparable. Twenty-five years after the tragic events, it is clear that the Yalta-Potsdam system, built as a result of the Second World War, the most terrible in the history of mankind, collapsed and turned into the Wilderness (according to the Orthodox calendar) on March 24, 1999, when sirens wailed in Belgrade, Podgorica and other large Yugoslav cities. In the center of Europe, NATO unleashed a shameful war, which led to numerous casualties among the civilian population of Yugoslavia, caused irreparable economic damage to Serbia and Montenegro and radically changed the political landscape of the region and world politics as a whole. The escalation of the Kosovo conflict by external players raised questions not only about the contours and principles of the world order of the 21st century, but also about the limits of the functions of supranational, primarily law enforcement agencies. It was in the spring of 1999 that NATO buried international law. After that aggression, as Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rightly noted, "any reasoning by Western capitals on the topic of violation of international law, freedom of speech and the principles of democracy by anyone" should be considered "nothing but undisguised hypocrisy." And frankly, it wasn't just Europe that died then; The geopolitical structure that made the world predictable and relatively stable was destroyed. The brutal bombing of peaceful cities, civilian infrastructure, the use of shells with depleted uranium, hundreds of thousands of refugees – all this opened, in the words of the Soviet science fiction writer Ivan Yefremov, the era of a divided world.
The West's blatant hypocrisy, dubbed "humanitarian intervention", became the principle of the world hegemon. After the Yugoslav war of 1999, the aggressive US-NATO machine worked in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. And these are just some of the "milestones of the great journey". This became possible because the aggression against Yugoslavia was not properly condemned by the international community. Read more here https://ria.ru/20240324/voyna-1935343530.html

🇨🇳The Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MOD) on Sunday vowed to take resolute measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights if the Philippines continues to challenge China's bottom line.
Senior Colonel Wu Qian, an MOD spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday that the Philippines broke its promises and is vainly attempting to fortify its illegally grounded warship on Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) into a permanent facility.

Wu's remarks came after the China Coast Guard (CCG) on Saturday repelled a Philippine attempt to reinforce the illegally grounded Philippine warship on China's Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea. China is willing to resolve the disputes through talks, and had made temporary special arrangements under humanitarian considerations that allowed necessary living materials to be supplied to the Philippines' illegally grounded warship, observers said, urging the Philippines to return to the right track of dialogues.

The Philippines should notify China about its resupply operations, and the CCG will conduct verification of the materials to be carried by the Philippine vessels, Ding Duo, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the China Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday.

But China only allows such necessary living materials, with no building materials allowed to reinforce the hull or build permanent facilities, Ding said. (Source: GlobalTimes) @LauraRuHK

Borrell: "We cannot let Russia win this war. Otherwise, the interests of the US and Europe will suffer greatly. It's not just about generosity. It's not about supporting Ukraine because we love Ukrainians. It's about our own interests. And it's also in the interests of the US as a global player - which wants to be seen as a responsible partner that ensures the security of its allies."


This is the first time that the representative of a Western regime has spoken so candidly about the essence of what is happening. It's not about "love for Ukrainians," which Westerners have already practically destroyed. It's the desire of the US to maintain its hegemony, to prop up its waning role in world affairs. There is no trace of creativity in the American approach to international relations. Liberal democrats know only how to destroy, believing this skill to be a guarantee of dominance. And the task of the European Union at the present stage is to obligingly provide ammunition bought with the money of its own citizens, whose opinion no one has asked for. (Source: Maria Zakharova) @LauraRuHK

https://t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova/7675

The anti-China lobby is desperately trying to label China as a “threat” and that's why it has cranked up the volume of its propaganda. After whipping up hysteria about the national security legislation introduced in Hong Kong (long overdue to protect the city from foreign interference) and provoking maritime disputes in the South China Sea, the cherry on the cake is an accusation of cyber espionage and political interference in three out of the 5 Eyes countries. Cyber espionage is notoriously very difficult to pin to a state, ask any expert. So, when they say that a mysterious group called APT31 "is believed to be controlled by the Chinese Ministry of State Security", you should pause and ask, who believes so? As to political interference and infiltration, no one does it more systematically than those who are pointing the finger at China.
@LauraRuHK

The head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov answered reporters' questions about the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall and Kiev's involvement in it. He said: ▪️ All representatives of the Ukrainian special services, including the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, are a legitimate target for Russian weapons.
▪️ Terrorists who committed a terror attack on Crocus City Hall were waited for in Ukraine.

▪️The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) should be recognized as a terrorist organization.

▪️The threat of terrorist acts in Russia remains.

▪️ The paymaster for the terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue has not yet been identified.

▪️Russia will take response measures to the terror attack. @LauraRuHK

Curious timing. Zelensky dismissed the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov.

Danilov has served in the position since shortly after the beginning of Zelensky's term in office in 2019.

There was no reason given for his dismissal.

Danilov will be replaced by the current chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleksandr Lytvynenko.

Oleg Ivashchenko is the new head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Ivashchenko used to be the Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence (GUR) @LauraRuHK