Russia uncover evidence linking concert hall attack to Ukrainians

Shafaq News/ Russian investigators announced on Thursday that they had discovered evidence linking the gunmen responsible for the deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, which claimed the lives of more than 140 people last week, to "Ukrainian nationalists."

Russia has consistently claimed a Ukrainian connection to the attack, despite denials from Kyiv and the Islamic State militant group claiming responsibility.

The state Investigative Committee, in a statement, revealed for the first time that they had uncovered evidence of a Ukrainian link, although the specific details of this evidence were not disclosed.

According to the statement, evidence of the connection was obtained through the interrogation of detained terrorists, examination of seized technical devices, and analysis of financial transactions.

The investigators stated that significant amounts of cash and cryptocurrency from Ukraine were received by the attackers, and another suspect involved in terrorist financing has been arrested.

Following the attack, eleven individuals were arrested within the first 24 hours, with eight, including the four suspected gunmen, placed in pre-trial detention. Seven of the detainees are from Tajikistan, and one is from Kyrgyzstan.

The United States had issued a public warning before the concert shooting, citing intelligence about a potential extremist attack in Russia. U.S. officials have attributed the responsibility to the Islamic State Khorasan, the network's branch in Afghanistan.