Lukashenko says that Crocus City Hall bombers first drove towards Belarus, and then changed their minds

The self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that the terrorists who committed the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall were initially heading towards the Belarusian border.

According to Lukashenko, the terrorists initially planned to flee to Belarus, but then changed their route. However, this contradicts the statements of the Russian FSB and Putin, who publicly said that they allegedly prepared a "window into Ukraine" for the militants.

"We activated our units in relation to the combat situation. Therefore, they could not enter Belarus. They saw it. Therefore, they turned around and went to the section of the Ukrainian-Russian border," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the Belarusian edition of BelTA.

According to him, the special services of the Russian Federation and Belarus supposedly interacted well with each other.

"Why did I say that? Because they began to reproach Putin... But we did not sleep together with Putin for a day! What do they know about it? There was constant interaction," added Lukashenko.

What happened at Crocus City Hall

On the evening of March 22, 2024, a shooting occurred in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow before the start of the performance of the band "Piknik". Four men entered the mall and started shooting everyone in their path. Terrorists started a fire in the concert hall, setting fire to the seats. After that, they fled in a car.

FSB claims that the terrorists from Crocus City Hall planned to cross the Ukrainian-Russian border and had contacts on the Ukrainian side. Even on the day of the terrorist attack, GUR declared that the attack near Moscow was a planned and deliberate provocation by the Russian special services, which would eventually end with accusations against Ukraine. Intelligence claimed that in this way Putin wants to justify even tougher strikes on Ukraine and total mobilization in the Russian Federation.

The New York Times, with reference to unnamed American officials, wrote that the terrorist attack was organized by the Islamic State. US special services have gathered intelligence that "Vilayat Khorasan", an Afghan cell of IS, is planning a terrorist attack in Moscow. Washington passed this information on to Moscow. A source from the Russian state news agency TASS confirmed that the US shared data on the preparation of a terrorist attack, but allegedly "without specifics."

CBS News reported that the United States warned Russia about a terrorist attack and provided intelligence about a potential attack. A few days before the terrorist attack, Putin called these warnings "blackmail".

On March 23, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack and called it "the most brutal attack in recent years." The next day, a video of the killing of Russians in the Crocus City Hall mall, shot by terrorists, appeared on social networks. The footage confirms that the terrorist attack was carried out by militants of the Islamic State. One of the terrorists shouts "Kill them all" and "The infidels will be defeated" in Arabic during the attack. He also glorifies Allah. All four fired indiscriminately at people, and one of them cut the throat of the wounded.

On March 24, a court in Moscow arrested four suspects in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall — Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Shamsidin Fariduni, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda and Dalerjon Mirzoev. Three of the four appeared in court with traces of torture. Rachabalizodʼs ear was cut off by law enforcement officers while being detained on video, and Faridun was tortured with electric shock on camera.

As of March 25, the official death toll at Crocus City Hall has reached 133. Among them is one citizen of Moldova.