Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s controversial reelection, at least 40 people died, and at least 100 were injured on March 22, 2024, in a mass shooting and explosives attack at a Moscow concert hall. Afterward, many wondered what Putin might say or how he might respond to the situation.
Shortly after the attack, Russian officials said it would be investigated as terrorism, as the Ukrainian government denied involvement, according to Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, the terror group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on the ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq via Telegram, according to CNN. ISIS provided no evidence to support the claim, CNN said.
In the weeks before the attack, Western embassies warned non-U.S. citizens in Russia to be on high alert at concert halls and large gatherings. But just days before the Moscow mass shooting, Putin called those warnings “blackmail,” Business Insider reported. ” … [T]he recent provocative statements of a number of official Western structures about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Russia” were intended to “intimidate and destabilize our society,” Putin said.
Putin was receiving updates
According to Al Jazeera, in the immediate aftermath of the Moscow shooting and bombing, Vladimir Putin had not yet commented publicly on the attack. Putin was, however, “constantly being informed by all relevant services about what is happening and the measures being taken,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The Moscow attack came amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russian war and as news of the incident spread, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on X in part, “Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting/explosions in the Crocus City Hall (Moscow Region, Russia). It makes no sense whatsoever … Ukraine has never resorted to the use of terrorist methods. It is always pointless.”