The worst terrorist attack on their soil for two decades has left Russians in shock and looking for explanations. Over the weekend, survivors graphically conveyed the horror that unfolded on Friday evening inside the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s commuter belt. Hunted down by at least four gunmen, minutes before a rock concert was due to begin, 137 people have so far lost their lives. That death toll is almost certain to rise, given the number of seriously wounded.
After an atrocity that recalls all too clearly the Islamic State attacks on the Bataclan nightclub in Paris and Manchester Arena, the world has mourned with Russia. But after terror has come obfuscation and disinformation. Though all available evidence suggests this murderous rampage was the work of a branch of IS based principally in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Kremlin is cynically choosing to exploit the carnage for propaganda purposes against Ukraine.
