Ukraine's SBU Rejects Terrorism Claims Amid Russia's Extradition Request
On Monday, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) rebuffed the terrorism allegations levelled by Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as "cynical."
The SBU also dismissed the extradition request for the head of the Ukrainian service and other individuals suspected by Moscow in connection with the attack on the Crocus concert hall in Moscow's outskirts, where at least 144 people lost their lives on March 22nd.
Simultaneously, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) associated this attack with recent Ukrainian incursions along the border, as reported by EFE and cited by Agerpres.
The SBU emphasised that invoking international law norms, notably the convention on combating terrorism, disregards the fact that Putin is officially on the International Criminal Court's wanted list in The Hague.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian service underscored the hypocrisy in terrorism allegations coming from a country responsible for the Bucha liberation celebration in the Kiev region and the atrocities committed there. This statement followed the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' announcement that it had forwarded a request for the immediate arrest and extradition of all individuals involved in the attacks, citing conventions on bombings and terrorism financing.
Additionally, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service condemned a Western disinformation campaign aimed at portraying Russia as a target of the Islamic State (ISIS) due to its involvement in the Chechnya conflict, support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and engagement with the Taliban, who are ISIS adversaries.
Russia has acknowledged that the March 22 attack, claimed by ISIS, was carried out by Islamists, but the motive behind the attack remains unclear.
The four terrorists, all Tajik citizens, fled to Ukraine after the attack but were apprehended in the Russian region of Bryansk. Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that they were provided with an escape route by the Ukrainian side.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
