SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS — Along with expressions of sympathy for the victims and pledges to bring the perpetrators to justice, Russia’s response to Friday’s deadly attack on a concert hall has been an across-the-board campaign of disinformation. The Kremlin and its surrogates spent the weekend suggesting – with no evidence – that Ukrainians or Americans, or both, were to blame for the worst terrorist attack in Russia in two decades.
As soon as Saturday morning, certain facts had emerged about the raid on the Crocus Concert Hall on Moscow’s outskirts: At least 137 people were dead and more than 150 others injured; gunmen had stormed the arena, shot at concertgoers, and set fire to the main building; the terrorist group ISK (Islamic State Khorasan) had claimed responsibility – a claim U.S. intelligence said was legitimate – and the group released videos taken by its operatives during the attack.
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