'It’s a lie': Ukrainian foreign minister on Russia linking Moscow attack to Kyiv

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia’s allegation of Kyiv’s involvement in the Moscow concert hall attack was a “lie”. Speaking to India Today TV, Kuleba called the charges an attempt by Russia to “discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the global community”.

Gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers on March 22, claiming the lives of 144 people. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the worst in Russia in the last two decades. US officials also said they have intelligence showing it was carried out by the network's Afghan branch, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K).

Russia, however, alleged Ukraine’s link to the attack and Russian investigators claimed they had found proof that the concert hall gunmen were linked to "Ukrainian nationalists".

In an interview with India Today TV, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke about Russia’s allegations and linked them to Russian propaganda.

"It's a lie. Whatever happens in the world, Russia will try to use it to achieve two goals: 1) to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the world; and 2) to mobilise the Russian community against Ukrainians,” he said.

Kuleba claimed that Russia is “desperately trying to find an excuse for their unprovoked and illegal aggression against Ukraine.”

“The moment I heard the news about Moscow, I said 'Make no mistake, in 24 hours, they will try to find a Ukrainian footprint in it’,” Kuleba said.

The Ukrainian foreign minister said, “Listen to Russian propaganda and they are obsessed with one thing - defeating Ukraine. If they have to lie to achieve this goal, they will lie, and that is what they are doing.”

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow announced a “military operation” in the neighouring nation in February 2022.

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