{"id":24989,"date":"2024-03-25T21:07:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T01:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/ukrainians-dismiss-kremlin-suggestions-their-country-was-behind-moscow-attack\/25\/03\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-03-25T21:07:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T01:07:51","slug":"ukrainians-dismiss-kremlin-suggestions-their-country-was-behind-moscow-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/ukrainians-dismiss-kremlin-suggestions-their-country-was-behind-moscow-attack\/25\/03\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainians Dismiss Kremlin Suggestions Their Country Was Behind Moscow Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukrainians have reacted with a mixture of concern and mockery to the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/25\/world\/europe\/russia-moscow-concert-attack.html\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">narrative pushed by the Kremlin and Russian state media<\/a> that Ukraine was behind the terrorist attack Friday on a Moscow concert hall, a claim made despite the Islamic State\u2019s claim of responsibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For some Ukrainians \u2014 officials and citizens alike \u2014 the accusations were typical of a Kremlin playbook, blaming Ukraine to justify Moscow\u2019s violence against their country. That includes the false claim that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia used to begin the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, stating that the country was run by neo-Nazi leaders and that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/17\/world\/europe\/ukraine-putin-nazis.html\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the aim of the war was to denazify the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s typical for Russia,\u201d Iryna Blakyta, 24, a resident of Kyiv, said on Monday, adding that she expected Mr. Putin to use the attack on the concert hall to rally Russians after more than two years of war. \u201cHe needs to mobilize people,\u201d Ms. Blakyta said; \u201che needs to show who the enemy is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But worries about Mr. Putin\u2019s next steps intensified on Monday morning in Kyiv, which was targeted by two ballistic missiles in broad daylight, the third air assault against the Ukrainian capital in five days. A university building in a central part of the city was reduced to rubble, and officials said at least 10 people had been injured.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The United States has confirmed the claim of responsibility by ISIS. And, on Monday night, Mr. Putin acknowledged that \u201cradical Islamists\u201d had executed the attack, but he also said Ukraine, backed by the West, could have masterminded the assault. Ukraine denied any involvement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukrainian officials said Mr. Putin\u2019s hints that Ukraine was involved were in line with the Kremlin\u2019s longstanding practice of sowing disinformation to cover up the failings of its security services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cPutin is a pathological liar,\u201d Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DmytroKuleba\/status\/1771863927300792579\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wrote on X<\/a> on Sunday, listing a series of bombings, murders and aggressive actions by Russia that he said were all cloaked in lies, including Russia\u2019s illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the downing of an airliner over Ukraine by Kremlin-backed fighters the same year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDo not let Putin and his henchmen dupe you,\u201d Mr. Kuleba said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Putin had earlier claimed in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"http:\/\/en.kremlin.ru\/events\/president\/news\/73703\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> about Friday\u2019s attack, which killed at least 139 people, that the suspects \u201cwere heading toward Ukraine\u201d after rampaging through the concert hall and that \u201caccording to preliminary information, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.\u201d He stuck to this claim on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence agency, ridiculed that claim over the weekend, saying that the Ukrainian-Russian border is an active combat zone that is heavily mined and guarded by both sides \u2014 making any crossing extremely complicated and dangerous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYou don\u2019t need to be a security expert\u201d to understand this, Mr. Yusov said on <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/interfax.com.ua\/news\/general\/975538.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukrainian television on Saturday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He and other officials have pointed to Russia\u2019s use of previous terror attacks to pursue political goals, including Mr. Putin using a deadly school siege in 2004 to consolidate political control over the country\u2019s regions, abolishing direct governor elections until their restoration in 2012.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/metaTCG\/1470\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukrainian officials and analysts<\/a> have said that Russia\u2019s attempts to shift the blame to Ukraine could be used to lay the groundwork for expanding conscription. Russia has captured several cities and villages in Ukraine in recent months, but at considerable human cost, making it crucial to replenish its forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTheir only goal is to motivate more Russians to die in their senseless and criminal war against Ukraine,\u201d Mr. Kuleba said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mykola Davidiuk, a Ukrainian political analyst, said Mr. Putin wanted to portray Ukraine as \u201ca cruel enemy\u201d linked to terrorism in order to stir up \u201caggressive attitudes toward Ukraine among Russian people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But he added that Ukrainians \u201cdon\u2019t care\u201d about this narrative because they have long been used to the Kremlin\u2019s spurious portrayal of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For now, people in Ukraine were left wondering whether Mr. Putin would use the terrorist attack to justify more deadly strikes against Ukraine. \u201cHe needs to constantly create some reasons, to keep things in control,\u201d Ms. Blakyta said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Monday at around 10:30 a.m., residents of Kyiv were startled by a series of loud bangs that came less than a minute after air raid alerts blared across the capital, prompting people to run in the streets to get to shelter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/kpszsu\/12338\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukrainian Air Force<\/a> said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles launched from Crimea, but falling debris destroyed a university gym. \u201cFortunately, there was nobody inside because it was closed,\u201d Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv said as he visited the site of the strike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nearby, investigators were busy collecting and marking missile debris to analyze and determine exactly what kind of weapon was used. Because the missiles streaked into Kyiv quickly after the alarm sounded, there has been speculation that Russia used one of its powerful hypersonic missiles, which fly at several times the speed of sound.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">All that remained of the university building that was hit was a huge pile of bricks, twisted metal structures and broken concrete slabs. Cars nearby were covered in a thick layer of dust, and local people watched as rescuers and firefighters cleared away the rubble, still in shock at what had happened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cA column of smoke and dust rose, just like in a fog. Then, sirens, rescue vehicles, emergency services,\u201d said Evelina Korzhova, 30, standing in her flower shop, which faced the destroyed building. The shop\u2019s glass window had been shattered by the blast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In his <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/en\/news\/za-cej-tizhden-rosijski-teroristi-zastosuvali-majzhe-190-rak-89833\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">evening address<\/a> on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that over the past week Russia had launched some 190 missiles, 140 attack drones and 700 aerial bombs at Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Oleksandra Mykolyshyn<!-- -->, <!-- -->Paul Sonne<!-- --> and <!-- -->Daria Mitiuk<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/25\/world\/europe\/moscow-terror-attack-ukraine.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainians have reacted with a mixture of concern and mockery to the narrative pushed by the Kremlin and Russian state media that<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/ukrainians-dismiss-kremlin-suggestions-their-country-was-behind-moscow-attack\/25\/03\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}