Terrorist attack at Moscow concert hall: As it happened

RT is wrapping up its live coverage of the massacre at the Crocus City concert hall just outside Moscow, which has claimed the lives of at least 133 persons and left more than 150 injured.

Read more on the deadly terrorist attack at the links below:

Deadly Moscow terrorist attack: What’s known so far

Everyone behind Moscow terror attack will be punished – Putin

FSB reports 11 suspects detained over terrorist attack

Moscow attack terrorists planned to flee to Ukraine – FSB

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has strongly condemned remarks on the attack made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who suggested Moscow itself was behind the incident.

“The only head of state stupid enough to blame Russia itself for the terrorist attack was Zelensky,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram, adding that the “self-exposure” of the Ukrainian leader is bound to “destroy” him.

In his latest video address, Zelensky claimed it was “obvious” that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “and other scum” have been trying to blame someone else for the incident while being the true perpetrators behind the attack. While producing the claim, Zelensky apparently referred to conspiracy theories of the early 2000s, alleging a series of terrorist attacks endured by Russia at the time had actually been orchestrated by Moscow. No evidence to back up such theories, however, has ever been presented.

The rescue operation has concluded at Crocus City Hall, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov has announced. The search through the rubble, however, is set to go on, with emergency services expected to make an opening in the building’s wall to simplify access to the site, the governor stated.

The chair of the Russian Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, has instructed personnel to identify all visitors and employees of the concert hall who helped fellow victims to escape the attackers. The Committee is seeking to award the brave civilians with ministerial awards.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has updated its list of identified victims of the terrorist attack, naming 29 individuals killed at the concert hall.

One of the managers of the rock band Picnic, which was scheduled to perform at the concert hall at the time of the attack, Ekaterina Kushner, remains unaccounted for, the band has said in a social media post

Emergency services will need a few days to fully clear the rubble at the scene, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov has said.

Firefighters have put out the flames at the heavily damaged Crocus City Hall, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has said. Rescuers have been digging through rubble of the concert hall manually, as the scale of the damage has made it impossible to use heavy machinery.

The US “strongly condemns” the concert hall attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in a statement. “We send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and all affected by this heinous crime. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and stand in solidarity with the people of Russia in grieving the loss of life from this horrific event,” he added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed gratitude to all countries and to international organizations that have offered their condolences to Moscow over the terrorist attack on civilians.

“We express our sincere gratitude to everyone who did not remain indifferent in the face of the tragedy,” the ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement.

Russia has for long been battling international terrorism and supports anyone’s efforts in this field, she pointed out.

“The fight against this evil must remain the focus of all healthy forces in the international community,” Zakharova added.