Ukrainians have reacted with a mixture of concern and mockery to the narrative pushed by the Kremlin and Russian state media that Ukraine was behind the terrorist attack Friday on a Moscow concert hall, a claim made despite the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility.
For some Ukrainians — officials and citizens alike — the accusations were typical of a Kremlin playbook, blaming Ukraine to justify Moscow’s violence against their country. That includes the false claim that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia used to begin the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, stating that the country was run by neo-Nazi leaders and that the aim of the war was to denazify the country.
“It’s typical for Russia,” Iryna Blakyta, 24, a resident of Kyiv, said on Monday, adding that she expected Mr. Putin to use the attack on the concert hall to rally Russians after more than two years of war. “He needs to mobilize people,” Ms. Blakyta said; “he needs to show who the enemy is.”
But worries about Mr. Putin’s next steps intensified on Monday morning in Kyiv, which was targeted by two ballistic missiles in broad daylight, the third air assault against the Ukrainian capital in five days. A university building in a central part of the city was reduced to rubble, and officials said at least 10 people had been injured.
The United States has confirmed the claim of responsibility by ISIS. And, on Monday night, Mr. Putin acknowledged that “radical Islamists” had executed the attack, but he also said Ukraine, backed by the West, could have masterminded the assault. Ukraine denied any involvement.
Ukrainian officials said Mr. Putin’s hints that Ukraine was involved were in line with the Kremlin’s longstanding practice of sowing disinformation to cover up the failings of its security services.
