Attack in Moscow: Putin ‘feels personal and complete concern’ despite absence from tribute

He will be absent, but not insensitive. Vladimir Putin, who has not yet attended a single ceremony in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack near Moscow, has not visited the families and wounded, nevertheless feels pain, the Kremlin assured this Saturday.

“The head of state is personally and completely concerned about a tragedy of this kind. Believe me, even if you don’t see tears on his face, this does not mean that he is not suffering,” presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in a short interview. “Hardly anyone knows and understands what he is going through, including you and me,” added Dmitry Peskov.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

On March 22, gunmen entered Crocus City Hall, a large concert hall near Moscow, and then opened fire on the crowd and set the building on fire. At least 144 people were killed and 551 injured in the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group and was the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, according to the latest report from Russian rescuers.

After the tragedy, the Russian president waited until the next day to speak publicly, and on Thursday the Kremlin made it clear that he had no immediate plans to meet with the families of the victims or travel to the site of the tragedy. This Saturday, Western diplomats, in particular American and European, as well as from African and Latin American countries, went to the site to lay flowers and observe a minute of silence, the RIA-Novosti agency reports.

On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin traveled to the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, to visit a historical museum and meet with cultural workers. This Thursday he took part in a meeting on tourism. The Russian president just this Monday admitted that the attack was carried out by “radical Islamists,” but Russian authorities have accused Ukraine and its Western allies, who vehemently deny it, of “facilitating” it.