Putin declares national day of mourning for ‘barbaric terrorist’ attack in Moscow

By AFP 23 March 2024, 2:58 pm

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A man lays flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the Crocus City Hall, a day after a gun attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 23, 2024. (Olga Maltseva/AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls yesterday’s attack on a concert hall near Moscow that killed more than 100 a “barbaric terrorist act” and announces a day of national mourning.

In a televised address to the nation, Putin says: “I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people. … I declare 24 March a day of national mourning.”

He also vows harsh retribution for everybody involved in plotting the attack.

“All four perpetrators of the terrorist act who shot and killed people have been detained. They were traveling towards Ukraine … We will identify and punish everybody who stood behind the terrorists, who prepared the attack.”