Deaths and injuries have been reported after a gun attack at a concert hall near Moscow, Russian media say.
At least four people dressed in camouflage opened fire at the Crocus City Hall, social media video verified by the BBC shows.
Video obtained by Reuters news agency shows a large blaze and smoke rising from the hall.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. Specialist police are at the scene
Footage on social media showed gunmen inside the concert hall while state media reported that some people were still inside.
Tass news agency reported a third of the concert venue is on fire and the roof is almost completely ablaze.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the international community to condemn the incident, which it called “a monstrous crime”.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the images of the shooting were “horrible and hard to watch”.
Putin has no need to legitimize what he does.
Putin doesn’t let people call it a war. He only made a “partial mobilization”. He is cracking down hard on dissent.
He is obviously scared of the People. He needs to appear legitimate in their eyes.
Not calling it a war looks even worse if the country you are not at war with just killed dozens of people in your capital. So if this a false flag op, it’s inherently self-contradictory.
not really, because then he’s able to say
“look how dangerous they are! we need a full war, a full mobilization! every man aged 18-25 needs to enlist tomorrow or face Prison!”