Kremlin tells pro-government media to emphasize possible ‘traces’ of ‘Ukrainian involvement’ in reporting on Moscow terrorist attack

Russian state-funded and pro-government media have been instructed by the Putin administration to emphasize possible “traces” of Ukrainian involvement in their reporting on Friday’s Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, Meduza has learned from a state media employee. A second source from a pro-Kremlin outlet confirmed the report.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that the four main suspects in the attack had planned to flee to Ukraine, where they allegedly had “appropriate contacts,” after the shooting. The agency said the suspects were detained in Russia’s Bryansk region on their way to the Ukrainian border.

The Ukrainian authorities have categorically denied any involvement in the terrorist attack, accusing the Russian authorities of attempting to fuel “anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society.”