After one of the worst terrorist attacks in Russian history, the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the crime that left almost 140 dead and 150 injured and published several letters of responsibility. Nevertheless, Russia wants to see Ukraine involved, against which Russia has been waging a war of aggression for more than two years.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the perpetrators wanted to flee to Ukraine, but he did not provide any evidence of this. Kiev denied any involvement in Friday evening’s crime. US Vice President Kamala Harris also sees “no evidence whatsoever” of Ukrainian involvement. Meanwhile, Russia marked a national day of mourning on Sunday.
“Weser-Kurier” (Bremen): “Where unsuspecting people are killed, they and their survivors deserve nothing but pity and sympathy. Regardless of the political circumstances in which they live or how the crime was motivated. Russian President Vladimir Putin and His military apparatus may have been guilty of grave crimes. But Putin is not Russia, and among the more than 130 women, men and children killed there will not have been anyone who would not have preferred freedom and peace to their government’s policies. If he had any influence on them would have.”
“Lausitzer Rundschau” (Cottbus): “Russia has been terrorizing its neighboring country Ukraine for two years. […] Can one have pity when people are massacred by extremists in the middle of Russia, especially near the center of power Moscow? If the aggressor If you have to watch helplessly as defenseless, innocent people are killed? Yes, you can. You even have to. Because the bestial acts in Bucha and Krasnogorsk have one thing in common: they targeted innocent civilians. They were ordered by unscrupulous criminals with one goal “To spread terror. And a human rights crime like terror must never be recognized as legitimate anywhere.”
“Leipziger Volkszeitung”: “It took the officers a solid hour to find the crime scene and get an idea of the situation. Meanwhile, more than 130 people died in the concert hall. If there were free media in Russia, it would now be about Vladimir Putin Crocus City scandal is being talked about. Because the head of state personally brushed aside warnings from Western secret services about extremist attacks on March 19th. Putin urgently needs a scapegoat. What could be more obvious than pointing to Kiev? Ukraine must prepare for new, terrible attacks Who the terrorists actually were is unimportant to Putin. He can portray anything as he wants in his state media.”
“Frankfurter Rundschau”: “The autocrat Vladimir Putin will continue to do everything he can to direct the grief and anger of his compatriots towards the neighboring country that has been attacked. He is obviously of little interest in the fact that Kiev has no interest in such an attack because the government by Volodymyr Zelenskyj would endanger Western aid. But such considerations will not prevent the Kremlin from continuing to pursue its chosen line. It should then be easier to implement renewed mobilization. In addition, Putin will carry out further attacks on Ukrainian cities with the massacre in justify the concert hall.”
“Stuttgarter Zeitung”: “While the Russian authorities have hunted down dissidents almost daily over the past two years for ‘justifying terrorism’, they have neglected to look at real dangers from Islamist circles. In order to avoid having to answer too many questions about this, the Kremlin’s propaganda noise about a ‘Ukrainian lead’ in the latest terrorist attack – even if the government in Kiev vehemently rejects this and the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claims the attack as its own. So Putin leaves people completely in the dark about what is going on will come to them in the coming days.”
“Reutlinger General-Anzeiger”: “Putin himself is partly responsible for such reactions with his cruel warfare in Chechnya and the suppression of the Islamic provinces in the south of Russia. But he is currently waging a war of conquest against Ukraine – and everything must be subordinated to that. “That’s why, shortly after the attack, he launched a particularly intensive attack on Ukraine with rockets and drones. The anger of Russian citizens over this attack is to be redirected towards Ukraine as the perpetrator. In fact, Tajiks are behind the attack, probably operating from Afghanistan.”
“Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” (Halle): “Putin works like the Chekists, Lenin’s secret special troops for eliminating opposition members who were wreaking havoc in Russia from 1917 onwards. Chekists generally deny the good in people, they only see enemies everywhere who can be ignored They are allowed to lie, cheat and murder with scruples. The Russian victims in the Crocus City Hall paid a high price for this more than gloomy world view of their head of state. But that’s not all. Because in Moscow what shouldn’t be can’t happen, evil reigns further: Putin urgently needs a scapegoat. What could be more obvious than pointing to Kiev? That doesn’t mean anything good for Ukraine.”
“Volksstimme” (Magdeburg): “The Kremlin can wage a war in Ukraine, trigger Western sanctions and isolate Russia internationally – the people somehow support everything. They even elect the warlord as president again. But on Friday evening with the longed-for distraction at the rock concert “To simply be shot down – that’s a limit crossed for the Russians. It hits right in the heart.”
“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “The attack on a concert hall near Moscow is a heinous crime, the high number of victims is shocking. It was right and appropriate that the federal government and other Western leaders condemned the act. Despite all the deep differences […] should not give the impression of gloating. […] Terrorist attacks are not easy to prevent. In this case, however, the suspicion arises that the Russian security apparatus is stressed, if not distracted, by the war and political repression “Putin has not made Russia stronger, as he constantly claims, but more vulnerable.”
“Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” (Heidelberg): “A ghost is returning to Europe. And that is the ghost of Islamist terror. Russian President Putin may claim a ‘trail to Ukraine’ after the bloodbath in the Moscow concert hall: experts [ …] consider the Islamic State to be more credible. And it would not be the first attack by Islamists in Russia.”
“Rheinpfalz”: “What happened in the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow is like a nightmare that we Europeans had suppressed. The coronavirus, the Ukraine war, the Middle East conflict, Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House, China’s threatening gestures against Taiwan, all of it That’s what we’ve been concerned about politically lately – the terror of jihadist groups less so. It hadn’t disappeared, IS only caused a bloodbath in Kerman, Iran, in January. But from a European perspective, that’s a long way away. […] Germany also remains in the crosshairs IS.”
“Rhein-Zeitung” (Koblenz): “Recently, attacks in Germany have often only been prevented through tips from foreign secret services – which gives many citizens the uneasy feeling that the German security services are not well positioned on this issue. Nancy Faeser has to “So quickly show that the authorities can deal with these dangers and take tips seriously.”
