Russia aware of terror plot since mid-February, says Ukraine’s intelligence chief

Russia knew about a planned terrorist attack on its territory as early as February 15, well over a month before the actual incident occurred, reported Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at the Third International Forum on Strategic Communications.

“I’ll tell you more, this information went through the intelligence agency of the group in Syria. From there, it went to Moscow. And let them not tell tales that all of this [the attack – ed.] somehow came out of nowhere,” said Budanov.

Russia was aware of the origins of the militant groups and the two countries through which they would transit en route to Russian territory. “There are several reasons why they allowed this to happen. First, as they usually do, it’s a “tower” struggle, to now remove several high-ranking officials. Another option is that they actually underestimated the scale of what would happen. They thought it would be more localized and wanted to blame Ukraine for everything,” clarified Budanov.

The intelligence disclosed that the Kremlin has altered its narrative about the events at Crocus City Hall three times, each time incorporating a “Ukrainian element” into the story. “Explanations from Patrushev [Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation – ed.] and Bortnikov [head of the FSB of Russia] appeared, who accused me personally and claimed that it was all done by Ukraine. This is nonsense. By the way, even if we touch on this painful issue, although it is an enemy, I do not approve of terrorist acts against civilians in general,” emphasized Budanov.

Russia created disorder and confidently thought it could manage it, concluded Budanov. 

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is outraged with Russia’s recent attempts to blame Ukraine, the UK and the USA for the horrific attack in Moscow on March 22. The Russian leadership is promoting this lie despite all signs pointing to a militant group of religious fanatics. 

Earlier, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) condemned the Kremlin’s attempts to link Kyiv to the attack in Moscow. Oles Horodetskyy, the President of the Christian Association of Ukrainians and Ukrainian community leader in Rome, stated that Russia has reached a new level of cruelty.

On March 22, a shooting occurred in a concert hall in Moscow Oblast, during which 137 Russians were killed. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.