'They always blame others,' Zelenskyy says after Russian remarks on Moscow concert attack

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russians "always blame others," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after officials in Moscow said four people directly involved in a deadly attack on a concert hall in the capital region had been detained while on their way to Ukraine.

"What happened in Moscow yesterday is obvious, and Putin and other scums are trying to shift the blame to someone else. Their methods are always the same. We have seen it all before. There were blown-up houses, mass shootings, and explosions. And they always blame others," Zelenskyy said in an evening address late Saturday.

"They came to Ukraine, burned down our cities, and then tried to blame Ukraine ... they are waging war against us, but they don’t care about what happens inside their own country," he said. Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine two years to "denazify" and "demilitarize" the country.

Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has vowed to punish the perpetrators, "remained silent for a day, thinking about how to link this to Ukraine."

“And if the Russians are ready to silently die in ‘crocuses’ and not ask any questions to their security and intelligence agencies, then Putin will try to turn such a situation to his personal advantage again,” he added.

At least 133 people were killed and 152 others injured after gunmen on Friday opened fire when rock band Picnic was about to perform at the Crocus City Hall just west of Moscow.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it detained 11 people, including four perpetrators, in the border region of Bryansk on their way to Ukraine.

Putin said during an address to the nation that all four people directly involved in committing the attack were arrested on their way to Ukraine, where "a window" was prepared for their escape.

Ukrainian authorities denied any involvement in the shooting, with the Foreign Ministry claiming the attack was a "planned provocation" to "fuel anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society" and discredit Kyiv internationally.