On Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry charged Ukraine with orchestrating the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, the Moscow region concert venue, and with other strikes. Moscow demanded the arrest and extradition of Vasili Maliuk, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), along with several others named in connection with these actions.
In a formal statement, the Foreign Ministry said it had provided Ukrainian authorities with a list of demands under the frameworks of anti-terrorism and anti-terror financing conventions, calling for the immediate arrest and handover of all individuals implicated in the attacks.
It noted that among those listed is Vasili Maliuk, the head of the SBU, who allegedly acknowledged Ukraine’s involvement in the October 2022 Crimea Bridge explosion and disclosed details about preparations for other terrorist plots in Russia, according to Moscow.
Moscow described the March 22 concert hall attack, which left 144 people dead and reverberated around the world, as not the first recent terrorist strike on the country and asserted that investigations point to Ukrainian involvement.
Exteriors also recalled other explosive incidents in Russia, including killings of journalist Daria Dugina and blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, and injuries to writer Yevgeny Prilepin and his driver.
Additionally cited were the deaths of five people in the Crimea Bridge explosion, 42 injuries in the St. Petersburg blast that claimed Tatarsky’s life, and casualties linked to incursions by the Russian Volunteer Corps, a group fighting on the Ukrainian side.
The ministry stressed that the fight against international terrorism is a global responsibility. Moscow urged Kyiv to halt any support for terrorist actions, to surrender the perpetrators, and to compensate victims for damages.
According to Exteriors, noncompliance by Ukraine with its anti-terrorism commitments would carry international criminal responsibility.
Official reports indicate that the Crocus City Hall attack, located about 20 kilometers from central Moscow, caused at least 144 fatalities and left more than 150 people hospitalized.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) previously announced the detention of eleven individuals in connection with the attack. Among the detainees were four militants involved in the assault.
Those detained reportedly resisted when apprehended on a road in the Bryansk region, near the Ukrainian border, as they allegedly attempted to flee.
Russia has acknowledged that the outskirts of Moscow were targeted by islamist militants, while maintaining that there is a Ukrainian link and claiming to possess evidence of Kyiv’s funding of the terrorists.