UK warns Putin against exploiting Moscow mass shooting to intensify war effort - media

The UK government has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use the terrorist attack in Moscow as a pretext to intensify war against Ukraine.

That’s according to The Telegraph, referring to an informed source, Ukrinform reports.

On Saturday, March 23, Putin claimed the gunmen who were at large following the attack tried to hid and moved toward Ukraine, where “a window had been prepared for them to cross the border”.

“Putin’s desperation to put all of this on Ukraine is unsurprising, as he tries to further dupe the Russian people whilst pretending that there is no dissent within Russia,” a senior security source in the British government told the publication.

According to the source, the Russian president should not use this "confected connection" as an excuse for intensifying his illegal war in Ukraine.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “Russian media channels are already circulating deep fake videos of Ukrainian officials in an attempt to blame Ukraine and provide Putin some defence for the war crimes he’s committing in Ukraine or worse, pretext for further atrocities.

“There is no indication of any link to Ukraine, nor any credible reason to suggest their involvement,” Kearns said.

As reported across Russian media, on Friday evening, armed gunmen sporting camouflaged uniform broke into the Crocus City Hall concert hall before a Russian band show, spraying the crowd with automatic gunfire.

During the attack, explosions rocked the venue before it was engulfed in fire. At least 60 people are reportedly dead and over a hundred were wounded. As of now, 133 people have been confirmed dead and 140 – injured.