The Emergencies Ministry put the death toll from the attack on Crocus City Hall at 137 on Monday, with more than 180 people injured. Russia had held a nationwide day of mourning the day before.
It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the country in nearly 20 years. Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram that rescuers had pulled 133 bodies from the rubble by Saturday and that authorities had tentatively identified 50 of the victims. In hospitals, he wrote, doctors were “fighting for the lives of 107 people.”
Events cancelled, inspections stepped up
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin cancelled all large gatherings in the city for the weekend. Leningrad Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast did the same with entertainment and cultural events, as did several other regions. Russian railways and civil aviation announced more security inspections.
Hundreds of Moscow residents queued on Saturday to give blood. One regular donor, who gave no name, said she felt an even stronger pull to donate now. “I hope such a tragedy never happens again, but since it has occurred, I am more than willing to offer my help,” she said.
Charges and competing accounts
All four suspects were charged with terrorism and face a possible life sentence, Moscow’s Basmanny district court said. The court ordered them held in pretrial custody until May 22. A first suspect accused of aiding the attackers was brought to the same court for an arrest hearing.
The Islamic State group said on Saturday that four of its fighters, armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives and firebombs, carried out the attack. White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson answered that “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack” and that there was “no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever.”
President Vladimir Putin took a different line in a Saturday speech. Based on preliminary information, he said, the Ukrainian side had been preparing a “window” for the perpetrators to cross the border. Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry both denied any involvement.
Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov urged patience. “Competent Russian authorities will figure out who organized this terrorist act,” he said. “This kind of work requires silence.” He added that the U.S. government had not contacted the Russian embassy after the shooting. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called a U.S. statement on refusing to help Russia “immoral,” and said that until the investigation ended, any words from Washington justifying Kiev should be treated as evidence.
Condemnation abroad
The UN Security Council condemned the attack on Friday “in the strongest terms.” Putin spoke by phone with leaders including those of Turkey, Syria and Tajikistan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for closer cooperation against terrorism, and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said, “Terrorists have no nationality, no homeland and no religion.”
UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov said that helping Russia with the investigation, and the possible role of Islamic State, would be raised at an upcoming Security Council meeting.
