Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “peculiar kind of Jew” on Tuesday when he attempted to establish a link between the terrorist attack in Moscow, which was claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – where Moscow has itself been repeatedly accused of committing acts of terror.
“Well, there is a peculiar kind of Jew over there,” Peskov said in response to inquiries about how Zelensky, who is Jewish, could be associated with the attack.
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“He is a Jew who, in many respects, exhibits sympathy and alignment with the nationalist spirit that characterizes the leadership of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov claimed.
Declining to provide further details, Peskov cited an ongoing investigation into the concert hall attack.
Last June, President Vladimir Putin referred to Zelensky as a “disgrace to the Jewish people,” eliciting swift criticism from Jewish groups. In response to Putin's remark during a BBC interview, Zelensky labeled Putin “the second king of antisemitism” after Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Russian officials persist in accusing Kyiv of involvement in the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that claimed the lives of at least 139 people last Friday, an allegation dismissed by Zelensky as absurd.
Despite assertions from the jihadist group and intelligence from the US suggesting otherwise, Moscow has persistently shifted blame onto Kyiv, which has adamantly denied any connection to the attackers.
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Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, laid the blame on Ukraine for orchestrating the assault, marking it as the deadliest on Russian soil in over two decades.
“Of course, Ukraine,” Patrushev said, addressing speculation about Kyiv or the Islamic State's involvement in the attack.
Putin, in a recent acknowledgment, attributed the attack at Crocus City Hall to “radical Islamists,” yet insinuated that they were linked to Ukraine.
“Of course, it is necessary to answer the question, why, after committing the crime, the terrorists tried to go to Ukraine? Who was waiting for them there?” he said, without offering evidence.
Islamic State jihadists have repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack since Friday, with affiliated media channels circulating graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.
On Tuesday, a Moscow court remanded an eighth suspect in custody over the concert hall assault. The latest detainee, originally from Kyrgyzstan, will remain in detention until at least May 22, authorities said, without specifying the charges against him.
Among those charged with carrying out the attack are four citizens of Tajikistan, hailing from predominantly Muslim Central Asia.
Additionally, three more suspects, reportedly from the same family and including at least one Russian citizen, were charged with terror-related offenses on Monday.
All individuals in custody face charges of terrorism, with the possibility of life imprisonment. The Kremlin, however, has rebuffed suggestions of reintroducing the death penalty in the aftermath of the attack.
s of reintroducing the death penalty in the aftermath of the attack.
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