The horrific videos defeated Putin’s efforts to present the Russian Federation as strong, united and resilient.

When Vladimir Putin finally spoke about the worst terrorist attack to hit Russia in 20 years, he highlighted his state’s blatant failure to prevent the attack that killed at least 133 people, despite a clear warning from the United States on March 7. that an attack in the concert hall may be imminent. This is stated in the material of The Washington Post.

The publication notes that Putin made no mention of the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crocus City concert hall on Friday and which Putin has repeatedly denounced as an enemy during Russia’s long military intervention in Syria.

“Instead, Putin used his five-minute televised address on Saturday to emphasize that the four perpetrators were “moving towards Ukraine” when they were detained, and that “the Ukrainian side had prepared a window for them to cross the state border.” He did not directly blame Ukraine , which denied any involvement, but the reference to “Nazis” – his usual label for the Ukrainian government – made it clear that he blamed Kiev.

But they say horrific videos showing attackers with automatic weapons coldly murdering innocent concertgoers and setting fire to one of the Russian capital’s most popular entertainment venues have defeated Putin’s efforts to portray Russia as strong, united and resilient.

The media recalls that the attack occurred just five days after Putin’s “triumphant” victory in the presidential election, which was “heavily controlled by the Kremlin and widely condemned abroad as not meeting democratic standards.”

Despite Putin’s rhetoric implicating Ukraine, analysts, former US security officials and members of the Russian elite said the attack underscored the vulnerability of Putin’s wartime regime, which was also evident when Yevgeny Prigozhin led his Wagner mercenaries in a brief mutiny to to oust top defense officials in June,” the article notes.

At the same time, the authors believe that given Putin’s authoritarian control over power in the Russian Federation, the Russian leader is unlikely to face any criticism. And rhetoric blaming Ukraine and the collective West is likely to continue and could lead to further repression as Putin seeks to push his nation into a long war.

Terrorist attack in Moscow on March 22

On the evening of March 22, a large-scale terrorist attack occurred in Moscow. Unknown people in camouflage opened fire at people from a machine gun.

The attack killed at least 133 people (including three children) and injured another 154.

The terrorist organization ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. At the same time, Putin made an appeal in which he linked the terrorist attack with Ukraine, and also drew an analogy with the crimes of the Nazis.