Russia creating a "smokescreen of propaganda" following attack, UK says
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March 24 Moscow concert hall attack

By Heather Chen, Andrew Raine, Catherine Nicholls, Antoinette Radford, Maureen Chowdhury and Kathleen Magramo, CNN

Updated 0852 GMT (1652 HKT) March 25, 2024
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9:26 a.m. ET, March 24, 2024

Russia creating a "smokescreen of propaganda" following attack, UK says

From CNN’s Thom Poole and Eve Brennan in London

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt gives an interview in London in November 2023.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt gives an interview in London in November 2023. Isabel Infantes/Reuters

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt told British broadcaster Sky News that the UK government has “very little confidence in anything the Russian government says” with regards to the Kremlin’s claim that Ukraine was somehow involved in the Moscow Crocus City attack on Friday.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address that the four attackers had tried to escape to Ukraine “where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border."

“We know that they are creating a smokescreen of propaganda to defend an utterly evil invasion of Ukraine. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a tragedy when innocent people lose their lives, when you have horrible bombings,” he said.

Hunt went on to say he takes “what the Russian government says with an enormous pinch of salt… after what we have seen from them over the last few years.”

CNN's Anna Chernova contributed to this report.

9:08 a.m. ET, March 24, 2024

Huge crowds outside Moscow concert hall to honour victims

From Katya Krebs in Moscow

People gather at a memorial outside the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia, on March 24.
People gather at a memorial outside the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia, on March 24. Vitaly Smolnikov/AP

Huge crowds of people are currently lining up in the rain to place flowers at a memorial outside the Crocus City Hall in Moscow region where 133 people were killed during a terror attack on Friday, a CNN team on the ground reported Sunday.

Members of the clergy are also paying their respects and have initiated prayers which crowds joining in the singing. 

Hundreds of flowers and a group of white balloons were left near the memorial.

8:10 a.m. ET, March 24, 2024

Pope Francis prays for victims of "vile" Crocus City Hall attack

From CNN's Christopher Lamb

Pope Francis attends the Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican, on March 24.
Pope Francis attends the Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican, on March 24. Yara Nardi/Reuters

Pope Francis has condemned Friday's “vile” concert hall attack in Moscow, speaking after the Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican.

Francis, 87, said he was praying for the victims. More than 130 people were killed in the attack, and even more injured after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices.

“May the Lord receive them in his peace and comfort their families,” the pope told a crowd at St Peter’s Square.

“May he convert the hearts of those who plan, organize and carry out these inhuman actions," he added.

5:49 a.m. ET, March 24, 2024

Appalling Moscow terror attack is a blow to Putin, who promised Russia security

Analysis by Matthew Chance, CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, Moscow

Law enforcement officers are seen deployed outside the burning Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 22.
Law enforcement officers are seen deployed outside the burning Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 22. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

Barely a week since Vladimir Putin secured his fifth presidential term, Russia has been plunged into carnage and disarray.

The appalling attack on the vast Crocus City Hall concert venue and shopping complex near Moscow, which has been claimed by ISIS, has left hundreds of innocents killed or injured.

This is hardly the stability and security for which so many Russians voted for President Putin. For years, the Kremlin strongman has been cast as a leader able to guarantee order in this vast, turbulent country. But Russia today seems more insecure and volatile than at any point in Putin’s 24 years in power.

The Kremlin’s brutal war in Ukraine, now in its third horrific year, has cost Russians dearly. The military doesn’t publicize casualty figures, but US estimates suggest more than 300,000 Russians have been killed or injured.

The recent death of Alexey Navalny, Russian most prominent opposition leader, has permanently silenced a vocal Kremlin critic. But the thousands who attended his funeral in Moscow, or who turned out to vote in a Midday Against Putin mass gathering at polling stations on the last day of the presidential election, indicate a base of discontent.

Now, the focus is firmly on the apparent reappearance in Russia of large-scale Jihadi terror attacks, unrelated to the Ukraine war or domestic opposition to the Kremlin. For a leader who has promised security and stability to Russians, a major attack on Russian soil is yet another powerful blow.

Read the full analysis here.

4:58 a.m. ET, March 24, 2024

Putin agrees closer cooperation in fighting terrorism with Turkey and Syria following attack

From CNN’s Clare Sebastian in London and Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong

Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, on Saturday and promised closer cooperation in fighting terrorism following the deadly concert attack in Moscow, according to a Kremlin readout.

The readout said Erdogan offered “his deep and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims” and “stressed the urgent need for closer bilateral cooperation in the fight against the terrorist threat.”

In a conversation with Putin, Assad “wished fortitude to the victims’ families and friends,” and the leaders “agreed to intensify contacts. . . in addressing counterterrorism,” according to the Kremlin.

Russia is the strongest foreign power operating in Syria, and Putin has long allied himself with Assad, throwing the full weight of the Russian military behind the Syrian Army.

4:45 a.m. ET, March 24, 2024

Russia begins day of national mourning for victims of concert hall attack

Russia is observing a day of mourning for the more than 130 victims of the attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday.

President Vladimir Putin declared Sunday a day of national mourning, vowing to punish the perpetrators and expressing condolences to those who had lost loved ones.

"The whole country, our whole people, mourns with you," he said. The attack is Russia's deadliest in two decades.

A man walks past an advertising screen displaying an image of a lit candle in Moscow's subway on Sunday.
A man walks past an advertising screen displaying an image of a lit candle in Moscow's subway on Sunday. Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images

A Russian national flag is seen lowered on the headquarters of State Duma in Moscow on Sunday.
A Russian national flag is seen lowered on the headquarters of State Duma in Moscow on Sunday. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

11:59 p.m. ET, March 23, 2024

It's morning in Moscow. Here's what you need to know

From CNN staff

A Friday night attack at Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue complex near Moscow, left more than 130 people killed and even more wounded after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence.

Four suspects involved in the attack were detained in the Bryansk region and taken to Moscow, where they are now in the custody of Russia's Investigative Committee, Russian state media TASS reported Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said "miserable" Russian President Vladimir Putin waited overnight before publicly addressing Russians, only to accuse Ukraine of having a hand in the terror attack at a concert hall near Moscow.

Here are other headlines you should know:

  • More on the attack: According to the interior ministry, “all terrorists detained in the Bryansk region are foreign citizens,” Russian state media reported. RIA Novosti published on Telegram the purported confession of one of the apprehended men. CNN cannot independently verify the RIA Novosti report or the statements made by the alleged attacker, which may have been made under duress.
  • Ukraine vehemently denies any connection: Defense Intelligence of Ukraine spokesperson Andrii Yusov firmly denied his country had anything to do with the terror attack. Earlier Saturday, Putin told the Russian people that the perpetrators had “tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the border." A handful of Russian officials have suggested without evidence that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack as well.
  • Global reactions: Leaders around the world — such as the French, Israeli and Turkish presidents — have expressed their condolences and condemnation of the onslaught. The United States “strongly condemns” the shooting, according to the White House and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also denounced the attack, stressing that ISIS is a significant global threat at a news conference Saturday.
  • Belarus claims it thwarted suspects: Belarusian special services helped Russia prevent the "terrorists" who allegedly carried out the deadly attack from escaping across the border Friday night, the country's ambassador in Moscow said.
  • Estimated damage total: The total estimated damage to the Moscow region's Crocus City Hall after Friday's terror attack is between 9.5-11.4 billion rubles, or approximately $103-124 million, according to a shopping union vice president, as reported by Russian state media RIA Novosti.

11:59 p.m. ET, March 23, 2024

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un sends condolences to Russia’s Putin over deadly Moscow attack

From CNN’s Sophie Jeong and Manveena Suri

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has offered his condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the deadly concert attack in Moscow, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday.

Kim “expressed deep condolences and sympathy” to Putin, the Russian people, the victims and their families on the news of heavy casualties caused by a “large-scale terrorist attack in (the) Moscow region,” KCNA reported.

North Korea opposes “all sorts of terrorism and nothing can justify the heinous terrorism threatening human life,” Kim said in the KCNA report. “Our people regard the misfortune and sorrow of the friendly Russian people as their own pain.”

11:59 p.m. ET, March 23, 2024

ISIS releases graphic video they claim shows Russia concert hall attack

From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury and Paul Murphy

ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq released a graphic video on Saturday that purports to show Friday’s attack at a concert hall in suburban Moscow recorded by one of the attackers, suggesting the perpetrators had a direct link to ISIS in order to be able to send the video.

CNN has geolocated it to the concert hall and notes that its identifying metadata has been erased.

The video, which is about 90 seconds long, shows four attackers with their faces blurred and voices distorted in what appears to be the Crocus City Hall complex.

The video shows one attacker signaling to another gunman, who then walks past a door where people are hiding and opens fire on them.

Bodies and blood can be seen on the floor, with fire raging at a distance.

The video also shows one of the attackers slitting the throat of a man lying on his back.

The video ends with the four attackers walking away inside the building as smoke can be seen at a distance.

On Friday, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a short statement published by Amaq.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine was behind the attack, stating the perpetrators had “tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the border.”

Ukraine has vehemently denied any connection to Friday's attack.