Putin vows to find the masterminds of the Moscow attack

Putin has repeatedly sought to link the March 22 attack to Ukraine and the West despite the Islamic State group’s claim of responsibility and Kyiv’s vehement denial.

Speaking at a meeting with top officials of the Interior Ministry that oversees the nation’s police force, Putin said it is important to determine “not only the perpetrators of this outrage, but all links in the chain and its beneficiaries.”

Russian media reported that authorities have strengthened controls over migrants in the wake of the attack.

Putin urged the Interior Ministry to tighten controls to stop illegal migration and close loopholes in existing procedures that allow people with a criminal past get work permits and even Russian citizenship.

The lapse in security has led many to wonder how gunmen could easily kill so many people at a public event. Kremlin critics have argued that the security blunder was rooted in the Russian vast security apparatus focusing heavily on stifling the political opposition, independent media and civil society groups in the harshest crackdown since Soviet times instead of on terror threats.

Putin said that the authorities are investigating the performance of law enforcement structures and other agencies in the concert hall attack. He urged law enforcement agencies to strengthen security at public gatherings.

“We have paid a very high price, and the analysis of the situation must be objective and professional,” he said. “We need to take ensuring security and order at mass gatherings, sports facilities, transport, trade and recreational centers, schools, hospitals, universities, theaters and so on. All those facilities must be under constant control.”

Putin, who has repeatedly accused the US and its allies of trying to destroy Russia, again charged that Moscow’s geopolitical adversaries were aiming to “ruin what is left of historic Russia, to break up its historic core” in order to win control over the country’s vast resources.

“Some of them are trying to preserve their hegemony in today’s rapidly changing world at the expense of Russia,” he said. “Some apparently saw our country as a weak link. They are mistaken.”