Vladimir Putin and his top officials continue to assert, more veiledly or more directly, that Ukraine may have played a role in the terrorist attack in Moscow, but some close to the Russian president disagree, writes Bloomberg.

There is no evidence of Kyiv’s involvement in Friday’s attack on the outskirts of Moscow, four people closely connected to the Kremlin said.

In addition, almost no one in the political and business elite of Russia believes that Ukraine is behind the attack, the news agency was informed.

Another source told Bloomberg that Putin attended the talks, where officials agreed there was no connection to Kiev, but he remains determined to use the tragedy to try to rally Russians behind the war in Ukraine. condition of anonymity.

These sources also said Kremlin officials were shocked by the failure of security services to prevent the attack.

Putin has twice tried to link Ukraine to the worst attack in Moscow in more than two decades, even as Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 137 people.

The president admitted late on Monday that the attack was carried out by Islamist militants, but at the same time said that “we are interested in who ordered it”, and noted that the US is trying to convince the world that Ukraine was not involved.

Putin’s subordinates continue to support the deadline for the involvement of Ukraine

Kyiv categorically and repeatedly denied any involvement and called the attack a fake operation by the Kremlin, while US officials simply said that the Islamic State was solely responsible.

The topic of Ukraine’s involvement was supported by Putin’s top subordinates. This has led to speculation that the Kremlin may want to use public anger to escalate the war against Ukraine, including possibly ordering a new mobilization.

The head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Oleksandr Bortnikov said on Tuesday that the terrorist attack was prepared by radical Islamists with the support of Ukrainian special services.

Bortnikov said that the attackers wanted to reach Ukraine, where some people were ready to accompany the attackers across the border, according to Reuters.

“In general, we believe that they are involved in this,” Bortnikov told reporters about Ukraine’s possible involvement, Russian news agencies report.

And the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Mykola Patrushev, said on Tuesday that Ukraine was “of course” behind the terrorist attack, Reuters reports.

Patrushev, who some analysts see as the “obvious successor” to President Vladimir Putin, made the comment after a reporter asked him if “ISIS or Ukraine?” was behind the attack.

“Ukraine, of course,” replied Patrushev, according to a video published by the Russian news channel SHOT.

Instead, on Tuesday, Alexander Lukashenko also presented a version that contradicts Vladimir Putin’s statements about the Moscow attackers.

If the Russian president said that the attackers wanted to escape to Ukraine, Lukashenko said that they wanted to get to Belarus and only saw that they could not get there, headed for the Ukrainian border, reports AFP.

“There was no opportunity to enter Belarus. They saw it. Therefore, they turned back and went to the border of Ukraine with Russia,” said Lukashenko.

A reorganization of the leadership of the special services is possible

The four men, all from Tajikistan, were charged in a closed-door hearing late Sunday night in connection with the concert hall attack and remanded in custody by a Moscow court until May 22.

On March 7, the US publicly warned of the risk of an “imminent” terrorist attack in Moscow and said it had shared intelligence with Russia.

A few days before the attack, Putin, during a meeting with FSB officers, dismissed it as an attempt to “destabilize our society.”

Russia’s intelligence services did not immediately respond to the US warning, and some officials may be fired in response, two people with ties to the government said, according to Bloomberg.

The attack may become a reason for reorganization of the leadership of the law enforcement agencies, people believe.