Russia intensifies statements about alleged Western and Ukrainian threats while continuing its terror in Ukraine
Having suffered a terrorist attack and declaring its readiness to “fight terrorism” on all platforms, Russia itself continues to kill. A clear indication of this is at least the missile attack on a residential area in Kharkiv on March 27, which killed 1 person and injured 19, according to preliminary data, including 4 children. And this is not enough for them. In Solovyov’s program on Russia-1, State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoi calls for a humanitarian catastrophe in Kharkiv to force people to flee the city.
While continuing its terror, the Russian government itself has been stepping up its rhetoric about alleged Western and Ukrainian threats in the wake of the attack on Crocus City Hall to increase domestic support for the war in Ukraine.
That has already been noted, in particular, by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Its analysts point out that the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation have accepted for consideration the State Duma’s request to investigate American and Western financing and organization of terrorist attacks against Russia. Although there is no link between this decision and the Crocus City Hall incident, ISW notes that Moscow has previously linked Ukraine and the West to the attack on the concert venue. But there are still no official charges, as all available evidence continues to indicate that ISIS is most likely responsible for the attack.
Against this backdrop of general narratives accusing the West, the Russian leadership’s messages about the possibility and desire to cooperate with it were rather surprising. In particular, Kremlin spokesman Peskov stated this possibility. “We have openness to dialogue and political will, but we are in favor of a comprehensive discussion of all issues,” Peskov hinted at his readiness for dialogue quite transparently.
Later, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov made a similar statement calling for cooperation with Western countries.
And while Kremlin is more or less cautious in its statements with the West, it is not cavalier with Ukraine, calling Ukrainian strikes on legitimate military targets in the temporarily occupied territory and Russia terrorism.
“Putin wants to divert attention from the crimes that Russia is committing in Ukraine. That is the same scenario as during the 1999 terrorist attacks. With this disinformation, Russia pursues a dual goal: to force the West to stop military assistance to Ukraine and to mobilize the Russian population again, as it is tired of the war,”
said Serhii Kuzan, head of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, as quoted by the Romanian Podul newspaper.
It is through this prism that the words of Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova should be viewed, who, commenting on the Bloomberg article entitled “Some in Putin’s circle see no connection between Ukraine and attack on Moscow,” called it “masterpiece news, the mother of all fakes.” This is how she expressed her attitude of “disbelief” in Ukraine’s non-involvement.
However, the Kremlin’s version was denied by the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. He said that the attackers on the Russian Crocus City Hall intended to get to Belarus while fleeing, but because of security measures, they “turned away” and went to the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Also, since the end of last week, Russian authorities and propagandists have stepped up their efforts to equate the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion “Freedom of Russia” with terrorists. Probably to prevent any sympathy for the volunteers
And the fact that Russia threatened the heads of the Ukrainian special services with death should almost directly accuse them of organizing the terrorist attack.
By using the Ukrainian track, the Kremlin is killing two birds with one stone.
The emergence and spread of disinformation about Ukraine are beneficial to Moscow, because, on the one hand, it raises a wave of hatred and general hysteria within Russia and calls for revenge against Kyiv, and on the other hand, as Serhiy Kuzan emphasizes, it allows the authorities to resort to the predictable “tightening of the screws” after the so-called “elections.”
In Russia, legal pressure on migrants has already increased following recent proposals by officials to take tougher measures against migrant communities in response to the attack on Crocus City Hall.
On March 27, it became known that the Rosgvardiya had conducted an inspection of the warehouses at the Russian marketplace to verify the status of migrant workers, and it was noted some detained foreigners were taken to military commissariats. Earlier, RIA News reported, citing a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry, that the government’s efforts to increase control over the influx of migrants may accelerate after the attack in Crocus.
Russian society and the media have intensified “discussions” on the return of the death penalty. Medvedev was the first official to “throw in” this topic.
And it is obvious that in an atmosphere of fear and hostility, nothing will prevent Putin from amplificating mobilization.
That is, using the old proven methods, the Kremlin seeks to achieve its goal. Namely, by constantly linking Ukraine to the Crocus shooting, it aims to increase anti-Ukrainian hysteria in society and the willingness to go to war in a foreign country. As a result, Putin believes, he is given carte blanche to carry out the terror he is verbally calling for to fight against. So, what’s next?