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Terrorist attack at concert hall outside Moscow
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What happened: Just before the start of a performance at the Crocus City Hall concert hall outside Moscow, as many as five armed men in camouflage entered the building and opened fire on the crowd. A blaze destroyed the building’s top floor, where numerous people sought shelter.
The death toll: At least 60 people are confirmed dead, and roughly 100 survivors have been hospitalized.
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22 марта 2024 г. 18:06:01
On March 7, the U.S. Embassy in Russia issued a warning about possible terrorist attacks in Moscow over the following 48 hours.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:06:55
A source told the Telegram channel Shot that at least five gunmen are responsible for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:07:31
At least a third of the Crocus City Hall building is on fire, reports the news agency TASS.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:08:38
The news agency ASTRA has published a video showing the gunmen firing point-blank at concertgoers.
Caution: the following footage contains graphic violence.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:09:38
National Guard Special Forces have arrived at the concert hall, reports TASS.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:11:42
The location of Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:15:03
A rising death toll
The Telegram channel 112 reports that at least 40 people have been killed and more than 100 injured.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:20:23
Firefighters have rescued 100 people from the building’s basement, state officials told the newspaper Izvestia.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:23:04
A coordinated attack
Sources told the Telegram channel Mash that the shooting began simultaneously both in the auditorium and the foyer, where people were still preparing to enter the concert hall. The terrorists reportedly set fire to several chairs in the concert hall, and the blaze then spread.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:23:34
Footage of the city skyline showing the fire at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:26:17
Washington expresses sympathy for victims
John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications at the White House, has called the attack outside Moscow “just horrible and hard to watch, and our thoughts are with the victims of this terrible shooting attack.”
22 марта 2024 г. 18:27:00
Explosions continue
A new explosion has reportedly rocked the Crocus City Hall building.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:28:06
Federal official uses the word ‘terrorist’
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has denounced the violence at the concert hall as a terrorist attack, according to the Russian state media.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:32:40
Eyewitnesses who saw the shooters told the Telegram channel Baza that they saw “five bearded men with automatic weapons,” some carrying backpacks.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:33:47
The search for the gunmen is still ongoing
State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein reports that special forces and firefighters are working inside the building, evacuating people and searching for the shooters.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:35:41
Emergency medical workers at the scene
There are 70 ambulance teams working near Crocus City Hall, said Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov. He added that everything possible is being done to save the victims.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:38:25
Putin recently dismissed U.S. warning of potential terrorist attacks in Moscow
On March 19, Vladimir Putin dismissed warnings from U.S. diplomats that there was an imminent risk of a terrorist attack at a crowded venue in Moscow. The Russian president called the warnings “outright blackmail” by the West and an attempt to “intimidate and destabilize our society.”
22 марта 2024 г. 18:42:25
Moscow on lockdown
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has announced the cancelation of all sporting, cultural, and other public events scheduled for this weekend.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:45:24
The first victims have been hospitalized
The first victims have begun to arrive at local hospitals, reported Russia’s Health Ministry.
More than 50 ambulance teams and emergency medical services are working at the site of the attack.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:46:08
Special forces move in
Special forces troops have reportedly begun their storming of the building. Persons waiting outside can reportedly hear more gunfire inside.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:50:40
Law enforcement concerned premises may be mined
Police are moving people away from the building. According to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novost, law enforcement fears the attackers may have mined the premises and there could be another explosion.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:54:42
Multiple shopping centers throughout the Moscow area have reportedly closed to the public.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:55:04
Helicopters are working to extinguish the fire from the air, reports Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry.
22 марта 2024 г. 18:58:39
Rescuers are transporting the wounded from the site of the attack
22 марта 2024 г. 18:59:49
Gruesome footage shows bodies in street outside building
The Telegram channel 112 has published a video recorded outside the building that shows bodies on the ground, apparently shot as the gunman entered the building.
Caution: the following footage contains graphic violence.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:01:30
People are also being evacuated from shopping centers in St. Petersburg
22 марта 2024 г. 19:06:09
Moscow says Washington should have shared intel if it had any
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the U.S. government should have immediately shared any information about a terrorist attack planned in Russia if Washington had such intelligence. John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications at the White House, says Washington has no information about who is responsible for the Crocus City Hall attack.
On March 7, the U.S. Embassy in Russia issued a warning about possible terrorist attacks in Moscow over the following 48 hours.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:09:44
Car rigged with explosives reportedly found in parking lot
The Telegram channel 112 reports that the terrorists left a booby-trapped car in the Crocus City Hall parking lot. The area has been cordoned off.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:10:22
Paramilitary group based in Ukraine denies responsibility
Representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right paramilitary unit that has raided areas of Belgorod, deny any involvement in the terrorist attack. “Of course, this definitely isn’t us,” a spokesman told Novaya Gazeta Europe.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:13:51
Russian television networks continue broadcasting entertainment content
At the time of this writing, during one of Russia’s deadliest terrorist attacks in recent years, Channel One is broadcasting a musical show, Rossiya-1 is airing a game show, and NTV is premiering a new season of the action-drama “Five Minutes of Silence.” The news network Rossiya-24 is covering the terrorist attack.
Update: Channel One and Rossiya-1 have since interrupted their regular broadcasting to cover the terrorist attack.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:16:41
Ukrainian-based paramilitary group accuses Putin of ‘false flag’
The Free Russia Legion, another Ukrainian-based paramilitary unit of Russian citizens, has also denied responsibility for the attack outside Moscow. In a statement, the group blamed Vladimir Putin and Russian security agents for staging a false-flag operation. The Russian Volunteer Corps has also denied any part in the attack at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:17:10
The Crocus City Hall building is starting to collapse from the fire
22 марта 2024 г. 19:18:46
FSB confirms 40 killed
Russia’s Federal Security Service has confirmed the deaths of at least 40 people. The agency says more than 100 have been injured.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:32:16
Christo Grozev talks possible ISIS-K role and chances of ‘false trails’
Investigative journalist Christo Grozev told the television network TV Rain that Federal Security Service agents recently arrested multiple terrorists connected to the Islamic State.
Grozev said that the U.S. government’s previous warning of attacks in Moscow concerned the activities of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province, a regional branch of the Islamic State terrorist group active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan. The FSB reportedly then raided alleged cells in this organization.
At the same time, Grozev said Russia’s military intelligence agency, “for some reason,” has been training youths brought from Afghanistan to Russia. If it turns out that ISIS-K carried out today’s attack, said Grozev, the mystery is why it decided to attack Russia now. He also speculated that the FSB might be motivated to “invent a false evidence trail” if attribution becomes difficult and the Kremlin remains committed to another round of mobilization in Russia.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:32:33
Ukraine denies any involvement in attack
The advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Ukraine has no involvement in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:37:55
Medvedev comments, suggests attack could be Ukrainian
In a message posted on his Telegram channel, former President and Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev expressed his condolences to the victims of the attack. He also said, “Terrorists understand only retaliatory terror” and vowed to answer “death with death.” “If it’s established that these are terrorists of the Kyiv regime, it’s impossible to respond otherwise to them and their ideological torch-bearers.”
22 марта 2024 г. 19:39:11
Terrorists shot people point-blank, say witnesses
The terrorists at Crocus City Hall shot people at point-blank range, opening fire almost as soon as they reached the turnstiles at the entrance to the building, witnesses told TASS.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:42:49
MVD chief arrives at Crocus City Hall
Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has reportedly arrived at the scene of the terrorist attack outside Moscow. He is the most senior state official yet to visit the site.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:43:24
Yulia Navalnaya, Alexey Navalny’s widow, comments on attack
What a nightmare at Crocus. I send my condolences to the families of the deceased and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured. All those involved in this crime must be found and held accountable.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:44:28
Firefighters advance
Russia’s state media reports that the fire at Crocus City Hall has started to diminish as firefighters advance into the building, but the blaze has almost completely destroyed the structure’s top floor.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:45:41
Putin in the loop
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirms that Vladimir Putin was made aware of today’s terrorist attack within minutes. The president has yet to comment publicly on the attack.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:50:46
Interrogating the concert hall’s staff
The Telegram channel Shot reports that five Crocus City Hall employees have been taken into police custody for questioning.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:52:29
Social media outages
Russian Internet users report a mass outage of access to the online social networks Telegram and Vkontakte.
22 марта 2024 г. 19:54:56
Lockdowns across the country
All public events scheduled this weekend have been canceled in Russia’s regions of Stavropol, Murmansk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vologda, and Kursk, as well as in North Ossetia.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:01:00
Hunt for potential escape car underway
The Telegram channel Baza reports that law enforcement agents are looking for a white sedan in which the terrorists might have escaped.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:06:25
A row of ambulances outside Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:09:46
Free rides out of the danger zone
Yandex Taxi is offering free trips to anyone leaving the area of the Crocus City Hall attack. The company says all fares on these trips will be reimbursed in the next two days.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:15:38
Latest updates as of 11:15 p.m. Moscow time (8:15 p.m. London, 4:15 p.m. New York)
- Russia’s Federal Security Service has confirmed the deaths of at least 40 people. The agency says more than 100 have been injured. Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said that four of the people currently hospitalized are in critical condition.
- The building is ablaze, and the fire is intensifying. It’s currently spread to an area of about 32,292 square feet. Aircraft are working to extinguish the flames from above. The roof in the stage area is beginning to collapse, according to an RIA Novosti correspondent.
- The building guards were armed only with batons and stun guns; they did not have firearms. According to preliminary data, several guards may have been among the first casualties, Baza reports.
- The car used by the terrorists is still parked at Crocus City Hall and may be rigged with explosives, 112 reports.
- Representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right paramilitary unit that has raided areas of Belgorod, have denied any involvement in the terrorist attack.
- The advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Ukraine has no involvement in what happened.
- A concert in St. Petersburg was stopped and the audience is being evacuated. Shopping centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg are also being cleared.
- Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the attack under the article on terrorism.
- Public events have been canceled in multiple Russian regions.
- Baza reports that law enforcement agents are looking for a white sedan in which the terrorists might have escaped.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:18:56
Ukrainian military agency blames Putin for attack
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate has called today’s terrorist attack outside Moscow “a planned and deliberate provocation by the Russian special services on Putin’s orders.” In a statement, the agency said the attack is meant to justify even harsher attacks on Ukraine and build support for general mobilization in Russia. “Putin has extensive experience organizing such terrorist acts as a way to strengthen his own power,” the agency said.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:25:15
Children are among the dead
Moscow’s children’s rights commissioner has confirmed that minors are among those killed in today’s attack.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:30:16
‘A lot of questions need to be answered,’ says Russian U.N. official
Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the U.N. is demanding answers to “a lot of questions,” citing the U.S. Moscow embassy’s terrorism warning issued earlier in March.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:36:41
Ingush men reportedly wanted as suspects
The Telegram channel Vchk-Ogpu reports that men from Ingushetia are wanted on suspicion of involvement in today’s terrorist attack. Meduza could not verify this information.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:38:35
Top federal investigator arrives
Federal Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin has arrived at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:41:31
Video shows blocked exits, fleeing crowds
Dave Primov, a survivor of the attack, shot a video showing how concert-goers escaped Crocus after discovering that its main exits had been blocked. Primov told independent news outlet Agentstvo that many people managed to escape from one of the club’s balconies via a service staircase. He reported that the shooters came into the club through the entrance closest to the main exit, making it impossible for an increasingly panicked crowd to leave via the most obvious route. Primov said it was difficult to find a way out of the club — fleeing audience members found interior doors locked and no venue employees to point the way out. He told Agentstvo that a group of “large adults” broke down an interior door that opened a passage out onto the street. He said a number of people tried to hide rather than flee the club, and he believes they didn’t make it out.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:42:15
U.S. embassy comments on attack
In an official statement on its website, the U.S. embassy in Moscow says it is “aware of reports of an ongoing terrorist incident at Crocus City Hall.” The embassy continued:
The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government limitations on travel for U.S. embassy personnel and staffing, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates in Russia. At this time, U.S. citizens are advised not to travel to Russia.
In a Telegram post in Russian, the embassy expressed condolences to the Russian people and reminded U.S. citizens in Moscow to avoid the region.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:51:11
Russian intelligence reportedly rules out Ukraine and ISIS
Journalists at iStories report that Russia’s intelligence services have ruled out the involvement of Ukraine and the Islamic State in today’s terrorist attack. Officials are reportedly still working to determine what group is responsible. Within an hour of the start of gunfire at Crocus City Hall, officials created an operational headquarters staffed with representatives of various security agencies to investigate the attack.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:54:21
An Ostorozhno Media journalist who was at the scene recounted how she and her mother escaped
At first, it wasn’t clear that it was a shooting. After we noticed the ticket collectors running from the top floors, people started to move.
We ran into the center and realized they were also shooting below us. They were shooting above and below; there was nowhere to run. There were no announcements – where to go, how to save or protect ourselves. We just lay on the floor, waiting.
We started running after everyone toward the escalator, we thought about hiding in the bathroom. People in the middle started shouting, “Turn around!” and everyone started running back.
We hid behind some flowerpots, behind some stands. We lay there for several minutes. The shooting was going on the whole time; they didn’t stop at all. And then we noticed that people started going downstairs, so we ran with them.
On the way, we saw a dead girl. She’d been shot in the head.
A man was standing there, helping everyone to get out. He was shouting: “Be careful, don't scratch yourself, don't cut yourself!” And that’s how we managed to get out to the parking lot.
22 марта 2024 г. 20:56:42
More than 20 countries have condemned the attack
Official statements condemning today’s terrorist attack outside Moscow have come from the U.S., Germany, Austria, Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Palestine, Venezuela, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:01:09
First moment of concert hall gunfire caught on camera
The Telegram channel Varlamov News has published a video recorded inside the Crocus City Hall concert hall showing the first moments of evacuation. The video captures the second when people in the crowd realized their lives were at stake.
Caution: the following footage contains disturbing sounds and images.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:04:20
Medvedev, Ukraine, Russian Volunteer Corps comment
Dmitry Medvedev: “Terrorists understand only reciprocal terror. No trials or investigations will help if force is not answered with force, and deaths with total punishment of terrorists and repression of their families. That’s our worldly experience. If it can be established that these terrorists were from the Kyiv regime, it’s impossible to deal with them and those who have been inspired by their ideology any other way. They must all be located and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists. Including official representatives of the state that committed such an atrocity.”
Office of the President of Ukraine: “Let’s get it on the record. Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with these events.”
The Russian Volunteer Corps, which fights for Ukraine: “It definitely wasn’t us, of course.”
22 марта 2024 г. 21:17:57
Eva Egupova, a costume designer, shared how the performers were evacuated
I ran out in the first wave of people. When I heard the gunshots, I was backstage, helping the dancers. We just heard the gunshots and noise. We ran out through the Vegas Cafe; the security immediately opened that entrance. We moved with the crowd in a stream, no one yelled or got in each other’s way. The guards opened the entrance right away, and we quickly found ourselves on the street. We ran to the shopping center, and there people were also panicking and screaming. We ran across the bridge; we were with the musicians from the orchestra. When we were near the church [next to the shopping center], we saw a helicopter and saw Crocus on fire... We could already hear the sirens as we were running out.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:26:20
Rising casualties
According to Baza, the number of victims in the attack has risen to 140 people, 77 of whom are hospitalized.
Earlier, the FSB said that about 40 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:30:06
Who owns Crocus City Hall?
Crocus City Hall is one of the main assets of Crocus Group, owned by businessman and construction magnate Aras Agalarov. Agalarov and his son Emin were reportedly at the venue conducting an emergency meeting with security and management following the attack. Crocus Group is one of Russia’s largest construction companies and has reportedly won government contracts to build such major projects as World Cup stadiums and sections of Moscow’s Central Ring Road.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:36:40
No additional explosives found in parking lot
The Russian National Guard completed an inspection of the parking lots around Crocus City Hall and found no explosives, said Russian State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:46:12
Moscow’s city government has called on residents of the city and the surrounding region to donate blood to support victims of the attack at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:53:47
Russian state news posts photo of getaway car
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports that the perpetrators of the attack on Crocus City Hall left the scene in a white Renault. The agency has posted a photo of the vehicle, as have independent news outlets.
22 марта 2024 г. 21:56:12
Heath Ministry confirms 145 victims
The Moscow Region Health Ministry published a list of 145 victims of the attack.
Nine of those hospitalized are in critical condition reports TASS, citing information from the ministry.
22 марта 2024 г. 22:03:12
Fire reportedly contained
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry says the fire at Crocus City Hall has been localized to an area of 150,695 square feet.
22 марта 2024 г. 22:49:44
Unofficial death toll rises to 62
The Telegram channel Baza reports that the death toll has risen to 62 people, noting that rescue workers have yet to search all areas of the building and this number could go higher.
22 марта 2024 г. 22:53:03
Putin still silent
Contrary to earlier media reports, Vladimir Putin still has no plan to make a special national address to comment on today’s attack, a source told the newspaper Vedomosti.
22 марта 2024 г. 23:00:09
Islamic State branch claims responsibility for attack
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall in Russia’s Moscow region. CNN reports that the U.S. is in possession of intelligence confirming these claims.
According to The New York Times, the U.S. collected intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, “had been planning an attack on Moscow.” ISIS members have been active in Russia, one U.S. official told the newspaper. “ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years” and “accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Syria,” counterterrorism analyst Colin P. Clarke told the paper.
22 марта 2024 г. 23:21:09
The news outlet RBC shares a photograph by Mikhail Grebenshchikov showing the catastrophic damage to the Crocus City Hall building.
22 марта 2024 г. 23:30:12
Latest updates as of 2:30 a.m. Moscow time (11:30 p.m. London, 7:30 p.m. New York)
- A branch of ISIS has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. CNN reports that the U.S. is in possession of intelligence confirming these claims.
- Official information on the number of people killed in the attack has not been updated since it was published four hours ago. At that time, the FSB reported 40 deaths. The Telegram channel Baza wrote that the death toll has risen to 62 people.
- The Moscow Region Health Ministry published a list of 145 victims of the attack. Nine people are in critical condition.
- The fire at Crocus City Hall has reportedly been contained.
- Russian National Guard officers inspected part of the first and second floors of the building, as well as the underground parking lot, and found no explosives. They were forced to leave the building due to heavy smoke.
- Russian state news reported that the perpetrators of the attack fled the scene in a white Renault.
- Moscow’s city government has called on residents of the city and the surrounding region to donate blood to support victims.
- More than 20 countries around the world, including the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany have condemned the attack.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has still not publicly commented on the attack.
22 марта 2024 г. 23:31:25
The Telegram channel 112 reports that a doctor among the first responders found a bomb planted on one of the bodies being moved for examination and identification. The emergency medical technician told 112 that the explosive was apparently disguised as a medical heart monitor. Security forces isolated the body and removed the bomb. The outlet reports that officials don’t rule out that this body was one of the attackers.
Update: Federal investigators have denied reports that a bomb was found strapped to any of the bodies at Crocus City Hall.
22 марта 2024 г. 23:46:13
Unofficial death toll rises to 70
The Telegram Shot reports that the number of people killed at Crocus City Hall has jumped to 70 after several more bodies were discovered in bathrooms, offices, and other rooms hiding from the shooters. The victims reportedly suffocated as the building burned; their bodies showed no gunshot wounds. The Telegram channel Mash also reports that roughly 70 people have been found killed, with more bodies still being discovered.
At the time of this writing, Russia’s Federal Security Service has confirmed the deaths of 40 people.
22 марта 2024 г. 23:54:40
Alleged getaway car caught speeding a day ago on local traffic cam
The news outlet Agentstvo reports that the terrorists’ alleged getaway car was caught by a nearby highway traffic camera one day ago, on March 21, exceeding the speed limit. Leaked auto records show that the vehicle in this photo and others reported today was sold in early January 2024. The new owner changed the license plate and apparently painted the car white (it was previously black).
23 марта 2024 г. 00:04:25
Russian TV airs fake video in which Ukrainian security official claims responsibility for Moscow terrorist attack
In a special news broadcast on the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, the Russian television network NTV aired a fake video in which Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov supposedly confirms Kyiv’s involvement in Friday’s terrorist attack. The video in question uses edited footage from several days ago, Meduza has concluded.
23 марта 2024 г. 00:12:29
Police search bulletin reportedly describes gunmen as tall Slavs who possibly wore fake beards, fueling speculation about Russian Volunteer Corps involvement
Several sources who spoke to the newspaper Kommersant say they still suspect Friday’s terrorist attack in Moscow is the work of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right paramilitary unit based in Ukraine. The sources told the paper that police officers tonight started receiving search bulletins stating that the terrorists are “young men, Slavs, above average height, and possibly used fake beards and mustaches.” The same sources told Kommersant that FSB agents reportedly arrested a group of men who wanted to join the Russian Volunteer Corps not long before Friday’s attack.
Meanwhile, spokespeople for the Russian Volunteer Corps have denied any involvement in the killings.
23 марта 2024 г. 00:26:42
Putin meets with national security senior officials
According to a statement from the Kremlin, the Russian president met with FSB director Alexander Bortnikov, Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Federal Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin, and National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov. The senior security officials reported to Putin on Friday’s terrorist attack outside Moscow.
Putin also spoke to Federal Emergency Management Agency head Alexander Kurenkov about rescue operations at the Crocus City Hall building and to Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, and Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov about ongoing relief efforts for victims and survivors.
23 марта 2024 г. 00:27:32
Official death toll rises to more than 60
Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee has confirmed the deaths of more than 60 people. The agency says the death toll could rise higher.
23 марта 2024 г. 00:39:25
Officials release footage of recovered weapons and ammo
Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee has shared a video showing the forensic examination of several weapons and shell casings recovered from the attack at Crocus City Hall. The footage is 83 seconds long and contains no dialogue or narration. Officials also examine several bodies (censored in this footage).
23 марта 2024 г. 00:43:04
Moscow video billboards display mourning candle
23 марта 2024 г. 00:50:08
Putin passes along his get-well wishes
Vladimir Putin wishes a speedy recovery to everyone wounded at Crocus City Hall and expresses his gratitude to the doctors treating the victims, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told the state media. The Russian president has not yet appeared in public to comment on the terrorist attack, which began more than seven hours ago at the time of this writing.
In the statement from Golikova, Putin describes Friday’s attack as an “emergency situation,” though federal investigators have designated the incident as a terrorist attack.
23 марта 2024 г. 02:51:42
Latest updates as of 5:00 a.m. March 23 Moscow time (2:00 a.m. March 23 London, 10:00 p.m. March 22, New York)
- Russia’s Investigative Committee has officially reported that “over 60 people” have been killed. They warned that the number of victims could increase.
- Health minister Mikhail Murashko reported that 115 people had been hospitalized. The Ministry of Emergency Situations reports that 99 injured people are in the hospital.
- President of Russian Vladimir Putin conveyed get-well wishes to victims via Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova. He did not address the nation himself.
- Putin heard reports from various law enforcement and security agencies on official measures being taken, according to the Kremlin.
- The television network NTV aired fake footage of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov allegedly confirming Ukraine’s participation in the incident.
- The New York Times and CBS sources report that the U.S. considers ISIS-K responsible for the attack.
23 марта 2024 г. 02:52:36
This concludes our live coverage of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. In the days and weeks ahead, Meduza will report on further developments in this story. Our newsroom sends its condolences to this tragedy’s many victims and their families.