Explosion and gunfire hit popular Moscow concert venue
Several gunmen opened fire Friday night at Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow, Russian state news agencies reported. Dozens of people were reported injured or killed.
“People in camouflage, at least three, burst into the ground floor of the Crocus City Hall and opened fire from automatic weapons. There are definitely wounded,” state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing its correspondent on site.
“After that they threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire,” RIA Novosti added. “The people in the hall lay down on the floor to escape the shooting, and stayed there for 15-20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out.”
Read the full story here.
Several gunmen opened fire Friday night at Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow, Russian state news agencies reported. Dozens of people were reported injured or killed.
“People in camouflage, at least three, burst into the ground floor of the Crocus City Hall and opened fire from automatic weapons. There are definitely wounded,” state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing its correspondent on site.
“After that they threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire,” RIA Novosti added. “The people in the hall lay down on the floor to escape the shooting, and stayed there for 15-20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out.”
Read the full story here.
Terrorist attack in Russia exposes vulnerabilities of Putin’s regime
When Vladimir Putin finally spoke about the worst terrorist attack to hit Russia in 20 years, he swept over the glaring failure of his security state to prevent the assault, which left at least 133 dead, despite a clear warning from the United States on March 7 that a strike on a concert hall could be imminent.
He also made no reference to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack at the Crocus City concert hall on Friday and which Putin denounced repeatedly as an enemy throughout Russia’s long military intervention in Syria. In 2017, Putin declared victory over the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
Read the full story here.
When Vladimir Putin finally spoke about the worst terrorist attack to hit Russia in 20 years, he swept over the glaring failure of his security state to prevent the assault, which left at least 133 dead, despite a clear warning from the United States on March 7 that a strike on a concert hall could be imminent.
He also made no reference to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack at the Crocus City concert hall on Friday and which Putin denounced repeatedly as an enemy throughout Russia’s long military intervention in Syria. In 2017, Putin declared victory over the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
Read the full story here.
Terror suspects appear in court in Russia showing signs of torture and abuse
Russian authorities arrested three more suspects in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed at least 137 people, and court documents said investigators believe they aided the four men who carried out the attack on Friday by providing transportation.
The four suspects arrested over the weekend appeared in court late Sunday showing signs of torture and severe abuse — confirming videos and photographs that had surfaced after their arrest suggesting brutal treatment at the hands of Russian authorities.
A barrage of videos had emerged of Russian security agents torturing the suspects — including forcing one to chew on a piece of his own ear that had been cut off, while another was stripped half-naked and subjected to electric shocks with wires attached to his genitals.
Read the full story here.
Russian authorities arrested three more suspects in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed at least 137 people, and court documents said investigators believe they aided the four men who carried out the attack on Friday by providing transportation.
The four suspects arrested over the weekend appeared in court late Sunday showing signs of torture and severe abuse — confirming videos and photographs that had surfaced after their arrest suggesting brutal treatment at the hands of Russian authorities.
A barrage of videos had emerged of Russian security agents torturing the suspects — including forcing one to chew on a piece of his own ear that had been cut off, while another was stripped half-naked and subjected to electric shocks with wires attached to his genitals.
Read the full story here.
Moscow rampage reveals ambition, deadly reach of ISIS successor groups
A few months before being killed in a U.S. Special Forces raid, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released a final video message that symbolically passed the torch to far-flung followers in distant lands. His self-declared caliphate had been defeated, he acknowledged, and it was now up to the terrorist group’s regional chapters to carry out “revenge operations” around the world.
Friday’s bloodbath at a suburban Moscow concert hall is but the latest reminder of how effectively Baghdadi’s brutal vision is being carried out. While his self-proclaimed Middle East “caliphate” is in ruins, a constellation of Islamic State regional affiliates is gaining strength in many parts of the globe, fueled by a mix of traditional grievances as well as new ones, including the war in Gaza, counterterrorism officials and experts say.
Read the full story here.
A few months before being killed in a U.S. Special Forces raid, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released a final video message that symbolically passed the torch to far-flung followers in distant lands. His self-declared caliphate had been defeated, he acknowledged, and it was now up to the terrorist group’s regional chapters to carry out “revenge operations” around the world.
Friday’s bloodbath at a suburban Moscow concert hall is but the latest reminder of how effectively Baghdadi’s brutal vision is being carried out. While his self-proclaimed Middle East “caliphate” is in ruins, a constellation of Islamic State regional affiliates is gaining strength in many parts of the globe, fueled by a mix of traditional grievances as well as new ones, including the war in Gaza, counterterrorism officials and experts say.
Read the full story here.
FSB chief, citing no proof, blames Ukraine and U.S. in Moscow terror attack
Russia’s intelligence chief on Tuesday directly blamed Ukraine for orchestrating the assault on the Crocus City Hall concert venue with Western help, alleging without evidence that Kyiv “trained militants in the Middle East.”
The accusation by Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, seemed intended to deflect attention from his agency’s failure to prevent the attack, in which at least 139 were killed, and to fan anti-Ukrainian rhetoric even as officials presented an increasingly convoluted narrative of what transpired Friday night.
“We think the act was prepared by the radical Islamists, but of course, the Western special services have aided,” Bortnikov told state media reporters, singling out the United States and Britain. “And the special services of Ukraine have a direct relation to this.”
Read the full story here.
Russia’s intelligence chief on Tuesday directly blamed Ukraine for orchestrating the assault on the Crocus City Hall concert venue with Western help, alleging without evidence that Kyiv “trained militants in the Middle East.”
The accusation by Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, seemed intended to deflect attention from his agency’s failure to prevent the attack, in which at least 139 were killed, and to fan anti-Ukrainian rhetoric even as officials presented an increasingly convoluted narrative of what transpired Friday night.
“We think the act was prepared by the radical Islamists, but of course, the Western special services have aided,” Bortnikov told state media reporters, singling out the United States and Britain. “And the special services of Ukraine have a direct relation to this.”
Read the full story here.
As death toll in Moscow attack rises to 143, migrants face fury and raids
Russian authorities on Wednesday raised the official death toll to 143 in the terrorist attack on a Moscow concert venue, and Baza, a Telegram channel close to Russian law enforcement, reported that as many as 95 people are missing and not included on the lists of dead or wounded.
Russia’s Emergency Services Ministry, citing official Health Ministry data, published a list of 143 names of people who were killed Friday when four gunmen with automatic weapons burst into Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow, shot many concertgoers and then set the building on fire. Many of the victims appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, Russian authorities said.
The Islamic State asserted responsibility for the attack, but senior Russian security officials, without citing evidence, have alleged that Ukraine, the United States and Britain had a role in organizing the strike.
Read the full story here.
Russian authorities on Wednesday raised the official death toll to 143 in the terrorist attack on a Moscow concert venue, and Baza, a Telegram channel close to Russian law enforcement, reported that as many as 95 people are missing and not included on the lists of dead or wounded.
Russia’s Emergency Services Ministry, citing official Health Ministry data, published a list of 143 names of people who were killed Friday when four gunmen with automatic weapons burst into Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow, shot many concertgoers and then set the building on fire. Many of the victims appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, Russian authorities said.
The Islamic State asserted responsibility for the attack, but senior Russian security officials, without citing evidence, have alleged that Ukraine, the United States and Britain had a role in organizing the strike.
Read the full story here.
Russia strikes power plants in heavy blow to Ukrainian electric grid
KYIV — Large-scale Russian bombing Thursday night damaged at least three energy stations in Ukraine, leaving parts of the country without power as President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently appealed to the Republican leadership in Congress to approve a stalled aid package amid relentless Russian airstrikes.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power provider, said three of its thermal power stations were targeted in the overnight barrage, which the Ukrainian military said included dozens of missiles and at least 60 explosive drones aimed at energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s air force said 84 of 99 targets were shot down, but Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, posting on social media, said the Russian strikes damaged energy assets in six regions. In some areas, that required emergency shutdowns.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Large-scale Russian bombing Thursday night damaged at least three energy stations in Ukraine, leaving parts of the country without power as President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently appealed to the Republican leadership in Congress to approve a stalled aid package amid relentless Russian airstrikes.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power provider, said three of its thermal power stations were targeted in the overnight barrage, which the Ukrainian military said included dozens of missiles and at least 60 explosive drones aimed at energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s air force said 84 of 99 targets were shot down, but Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, posting on social media, said the Russian strikes damaged energy assets in six regions. In some areas, that required emergency shutdowns.
Read the full story here.
Opinion | Zelensky: ‘We are trying to find some way not to retreat’
KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a stark message to Congress in an interview on Thursday as Russian missiles were pounding southern Ukraine: Give us the weapons to stop the Russian attacks, or Ukraine will escalate its counterattacks on Russia’s airfields, energy facilities and other strategic targets.
Zelensky spoke in a sandbagged, heavily guarded presidential compound that seemed nearly empty of its old civilian workforce after more than two years of war. The security was so tight, I had to surrender my plastic felt-tip pens. But Zelensky appeared as animated and pugnacious as when he made his defiant stand in the courtyard when the war began.
Read David Ignatius’s exclusive interview with Zelensky here.
KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a stark message to Congress in an interview on Thursday as Russian missiles were pounding southern Ukraine: Give us the weapons to stop the Russian attacks, or Ukraine will escalate its counterattacks on Russia’s airfields, energy facilities and other strategic targets.
Zelensky spoke in a sandbagged, heavily guarded presidential compound that seemed nearly empty of its old civilian workforce after more than two years of war. The security was so tight, I had to surrender my plastic felt-tip pens. But Zelensky appeared as animated and pugnacious as when he made his defiant stand in the courtyard when the war began.
Read David Ignatius’s exclusive interview with Zelensky here.
Pope’s Easter speech renews calls for peace in Gaza, Ukraine
Speaking to tens of thousands of followers in St. Peter’s Square, and millions more across the globe, Pope Francis gave a solemn accounting of a world in crisis Sunday, using the pulpit of his Easter address to renew calls for a cease-fire in Gaza while drawing attention to other conflicts, from Ukraine to Haiti, heightened risks of famine, the threat of climate change and the plight of migrants.
In Ukraine, the pope has drawn sharp criticism for his suggestion that Russia was provoked into action by NATO. This month, in an interview with Swiss public broadcaster RSI, he picked up on a word used by his interviewer to suggest there was strength in raising a “white flag” by those who are “defeated.”
On Sunday, the pope called for a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine and for an end to hostilities.
Read the full story here.
Speaking to tens of thousands of followers in St. Peter’s Square, and millions more across the globe, Pope Francis gave a solemn accounting of a world in crisis Sunday, using the pulpit of his Easter address to renew calls for a cease-fire in Gaza while drawing attention to other conflicts, from Ukraine to Haiti, heightened risks of famine, the threat of climate change and the plight of migrants.
In Ukraine, the pope has drawn sharp criticism for his suggestion that Russia was provoked into action by NATO. This month, in an interview with Swiss public broadcaster RSI, he picked up on a word used by his interviewer to suggest there was strength in raising a “white flag” by those who are “defeated.”
On Sunday, the pope called for a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine and for an end to hostilities.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky signs law lowering draft age in bid to boost military ranks
KYIV — Ukrainian men as young as 25 can now be conscripted into military service after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a new law Tuesday lowering the draft age — a bid to replenish Kyiv’s badly depleted troop ranks more than two years into Russia’s invasion.
Lowering the conscription age, which had been 27, was the most significant measure in a mobilization draft bill that has already seen thousands of amendments in parliament since the start of this year. Although citizens can voluntarily join the military starting at age 18, and men between 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country under martial law, the draft has until now protected younger men — many of whom are students — from being forcibly mobilized.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukrainian men as young as 25 can now be conscripted into military service after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a new law Tuesday lowering the draft age — a bid to replenish Kyiv’s badly depleted troop ranks more than two years into Russia’s invasion.
Lowering the conscription age, which had been 27, was the most significant measure in a mobilization draft bill that has already seen thousands of amendments in parliament since the start of this year. Although citizens can voluntarily join the military starting at age 18, and men between 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country under martial law, the draft has until now protected younger men — many of whom are students — from being forcibly mobilized.
Read the full story here.
After terror attack, Russia sees U.S. role and claims it is at war with NATO
RIGA, Latvia — In the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, Russian officials not only have blamed Ukraine but also have repeatedly accused the West of involvement — even though U.S. officials insist they gave Moscow a specific warning that the Islamic State could attack the venue.
If the U.S. warning was so detailed, it raises further questions about Russia’s failure to prevent the country’s worst terrorist attack in two decades. But rather than publicly confronting questions about their own actions, Russian security officials have disregarded the claims of responsibility by the Islamic State.
Instead, they have insisted that U.S. and British intelligence were involved in helping Ukraine organize the strike.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — In the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, Russian officials not only have blamed Ukraine but also have repeatedly accused the West of involvement — even though U.S. officials insist they gave Moscow a specific warning that the Islamic State could attack the venue.
If the U.S. warning was so detailed, it raises further questions about Russia’s failure to prevent the country’s worst terrorist attack in two decades. But rather than publicly confronting questions about their own actions, Russian security officials have disregarded the claims of responsibility by the Islamic State.
Instead, they have insisted that U.S. and British intelligence were involved in helping Ukraine organize the strike.
Read the full story here.
Extortion, threats, fear, traitors: How Russia recruits Ukrainian spies
KYIV — The Ukrainian soldier had been fighting the Russians on the battlefield when they came for his parents in occupied eastern Ukraine. They were taken from their home and tortured, according to Ukraine’s security service. Then, a Russian agent contacted the soldier with an ultimatum: Switch sides and spy for Russia, or his family would suffer more harm.
The soldier eventually agreed to help Russia, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU. Acting on instructions from his Russian handler, the SBU said in a press release, the soldier planned to add a poisonous substance to the water supply of the laundry complex used by senior officers.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — The Ukrainian soldier had been fighting the Russians on the battlefield when they came for his parents in occupied eastern Ukraine. They were taken from their home and tortured, according to Ukraine’s security service. Then, a Russian agent contacted the soldier with an ultimatum: Switch sides and spy for Russia, or his family would suffer more harm.
The soldier eventually agreed to help Russia, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU. Acting on instructions from his Russian handler, the SBU said in a press release, the soldier planned to add a poisonous substance to the water supply of the laundry complex used by senior officers.
Read the full story here.
At energy plant bombed by Russia, Ukrainian workers, and a cat, toil on
Little more than rusty, melted metal and piles of ash are left in a control room in this sprawling electric generating station that Russia attacked last month — destroying equipment and igniting a massive fire that shut down the entire plant indefinitely.
Ukraine’s electric grid is such a high-value target for Russian missile strikes that revealing the name or location of this facility, run by DTEK, the country’s largest private energy producer, could put the plant and its employees at risk by allowing Russian forces to assess the extent of damage to the facility to plan future strikes, DTEK and Energy Ministry officials said.
Last month’s strikes, which simultaneously hit numerous energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, obliterated 80 percent of capacity at DTEK’s thermal power plants. Even with the right supplies, it could take many months if not longer to fix the damage.
Read the full story here.
Little more than rusty, melted metal and piles of ash are left in a control room in this sprawling electric generating station that Russia attacked last month — destroying equipment and igniting a massive fire that shut down the entire plant indefinitely.
Ukraine’s electric grid is such a high-value target for Russian missile strikes that revealing the name or location of this facility, run by DTEK, the country’s largest private energy producer, could put the plant and its employees at risk by allowing Russian forces to assess the extent of damage to the facility to plan future strikes, DTEK and Energy Ministry officials said.
Last month’s strikes, which simultaneously hit numerous energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, obliterated 80 percent of capacity at DTEK’s thermal power plants. Even with the right supplies, it could take many months if not longer to fix the damage.
Read the full story here.
Opinion | I am proud to have spoken out against Putin’s crimes in Ukraine
The Russian Supreme Court is considering a cassation appeal against the sentence of Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in a strict-regime colony for public statements he made against the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin. Kara-Murza, who is being held in Prison Colony No. 7 in Omsk, was blocked from taking part in the hearing via video link.
Instead, he sent the court the following written statement:
“For the first time in my life, I am addressing the Supreme Court. This body has performed different functions in different periods of our country’s history: There was a time when it approved convictions for countless innocent victims, sending them to camps and firing squads; later, it overturned these same sentences for lack of grounds and issued decisions on rehabilitation. Today, we are back in the first of these two phases — but we should not doubt that the second one is sure to come.”
Read the full opinion here.
The Russian Supreme Court is considering a cassation appeal against the sentence of Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in a strict-regime colony for public statements he made against the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin. Kara-Murza, who is being held in Prison Colony No. 7 in Omsk, was blocked from taking part in the hearing via video link.
Instead, he sent the court the following written statement:
“For the first time in my life, I am addressing the Supreme Court. This body has performed different functions in different periods of our country’s history: There was a time when it approved convictions for countless innocent victims, sending them to camps and firing squads; later, it overturned these same sentences for lack of grounds and issued decisions on rehabilitation. Today, we are back in the first of these two phases — but we should not doubt that the second one is sure to come.”
Read the full opinion here.
With no way out of a worsening war, Zelensky’s options look bad or worse
KYIV — As Russia steps up airstrikes and once again advances on the battlefield in Ukraine more than two years into its bloody invasion, there is no end to the fighting in sight. And President Volodymyr Zelensky’s options for what to do next — much less how to win the war — range from bad to worse.
Zelensky has said Ukraine will accept nothing less than the return of all its territory, including land that Russia has controlled since 2014. But with the battle lines changing little in the last year, militarily retaking the swaths of east and south Ukraine that Russia now occupies — about 20 percent of the country — appears increasingly unlikely.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — As Russia steps up airstrikes and once again advances on the battlefield in Ukraine more than two years into its bloody invasion, there is no end to the fighting in sight. And President Volodymyr Zelensky’s options for what to do next — much less how to win the war — range from bad to worse.
Zelensky has said Ukraine will accept nothing less than the return of all its territory, including land that Russia has controlled since 2014. But with the battle lines changing little in the last year, militarily retaking the swaths of east and south Ukraine that Russia now occupies — about 20 percent of the country — appears increasingly unlikely.
Read the full story here.
Inside Donald Trump’s secret plan to end the Ukraine-Russia war
Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force.
Trump’s proposal consists of pushing Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia, according to people who discussed it with Trump or his advisers and spoke on the condition of anonymity because those conversations were confidential. That approach, which has not been previously reported, would dramatically reverse President Biden’s policy, which has emphasized curtailing Russian aggression and providing military aid to Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force.
Trump’s proposal consists of pushing Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia, according to people who discussed it with Trump or his advisers and spoke on the condition of anonymity because those conversations were confidential. That approach, which has not been previously reported, would dramatically reverse President Biden’s policy, which has emphasized curtailing Russian aggression and providing military aid to Ukraine.
Read the full story here.