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Putin declares national day of mourning as death toll in Moscow attack hits 115

People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the Crocus City Hall, a day after a gun attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 23, 2024. (Photo: AFP)

By Mwangi Maina | Saturday, March 23, 2024

Camouflaged gunmen opened fire at the packed Crocus City Hall in Moscow's northern suburb of Krasnogorsk on Friday evening, ahead of a concert by Soviet-era rock band Piknik

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has declared that Sunday, March 24, will be a National Day of Mourning, following the bloody terror attack that has left at least 115 people dead and more than 100 injured.

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This is the first time the Russian president has made public comments since the Crocus City Hall attacks. He sent condolences to the bereaved families.

"The Russian Federation will identify and punish everyone who prepared the terrorist attack," he said in a video address.

According to Russian media, mourners have already gathered in many public places across Russia, including at the location of the attack.

"The organisers of the terrorist attack were preparing a demonstrative execution and a bloody act of intimidation," Putin was quoted by Russian broadcaster Tass.

He added that Moscow will identify and punish everyone who prepared the terrorist attack.

"Only retribution and oblivion await terrorists; they have no future," he said.

Arrest of suspects

Russia on Saturday said it had arrested 11 people, including four gunmen, over the attack on a Moscow concert hall claimed by the Islamic State.

Camouflaged gunmen opened fire at the packed Crocus City Hall in Moscow's northern suburb of Krasnogorsk on Friday evening, ahead of a concert by Soviet-era rock band Piknik in the deadliest attack in Russia for at least a decade.

Russia's FSB security service said some of the perpetrators had fled towards the Russia-Ukraine border, adding that the assailants had "appropriate contacts" in the country.

Some Russian lawmakers also pointed to Kyiv, without providing evidence.

"The main interested party could most likely be Ukraine and its patrons; we can't rule it out," said senior Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov.

However, Kyiv said Saturday it rejected Russian claims of a Ukrainian link to the attack.

"The versions of Russian special services regarding Ukraine are absolutely untenable and absurd," Mykhaylo Podolyak, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Additional reporting by AFP