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Kremlin mouthpieces accuse Britain and US of 'complicity' if terrorists hit in Moscow after embassies' warning of 'imminent extremist attack' sparked fury in Russia
Kremlin mouthpieces have accused Britain and the US of 'complicity' if terrorists hit Moscow after embassies warned of an 'imminent attack' in the Russian capital.
The embassies said 'extremists' were planning to attack large gatherings, issuing a warning to citizens to avoid events for the next two days.
It was not clear who believed to be plotting the attacks, but people have been told to avoid crowds, monitor the local media for updates, and be aware of surroundings - while the UK and US embassies also advised nationals against all travel to Russia.
The alerts cover a 48-hour period including festivities linked to International Women's Day, a major holiday in Russia.
Several concerts are due to go ahead in the capital connected to the celebration.
While the Kremlin is yet to comment on the warnings, other influential voices in Russia - including Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled news outlet RT - expressed her anger over the intervention.
Kremlin mouthpieces have accused Britain and the US of 'complicity' if terrorists hit Moscow after embassies warned of an 'imminent attack' in the Russian capital (pictured, file photo)
While the Kremlin is yet to comment on the warnings, other influential voices in Russia - including Margarita Simonyan (pictured, file photo), the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled news outlet RT - expressed her anger over the intervention
'The U.S. and British embassies warned of the threat of terrorist attacks on March 8 in Moscow,' she said, according to the Telegram channel of ASTRA - an independent Russian journalism project.
'[U.S. citizens] are asked to avoid large gatherings for 48 hours... If you have specific information, it must be passed on through the intelligence services.
I hope you did. And if not, then this is complicity,' Simonyan - a staunch ally of Putin and a top Kremlin propagandist - added.
Other pro-Putin Telegram channels also took to spreading conspiracy theories in reaction to the warnings from the embassies.
'The USA and Britain have even stopped hiding that they are behind the terrorist attacks in Russia,' one - RIA Katyusha - wrote.
Russian reporter and VGTRK journalist Andrey Rudenko said on his Telegram channel: 'The U.S. Embassy stated that terrorist attacks are possible in Moscow in the next two days; a similar warning was also issued by the British Foreign Office.
'We understand perfectly well who could be the mastermind of terrorist attacks. And from these b****ards a warning about this looks like blackmail or a banal threat.'
The US embassy reported Thursday it was 'monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours'.
The initial warning to American citizens was shared by the British embassy and published on the Foreign Office's travel advice page for Russia.
The FCDO currently warns of security incidents 'such as drone attacks' in some parts of the country and advises British nationals to 'consider leaving' Russia.
It comes just hours after Russia's security agency, the FSB, claimed to have foiled an ISIS plot to slaughter Jews in a synagogue near the capital.
A large crowd of people gather at Red Square in Moscow on September 30, 2022
Footage purporting to show agents uncovering a cache of weapons while foiling an ISIS plot
Russian independent outlet Important Stories reported: 'Diplomats assess the likelihood of terrorist attacks as imminent, that is, they are confident in the reliability of this information.
'For comparison, in mid-February 2022, the US Embassy assessed Russia's invasion of Ukraine as 'could be imminent'.'
The warning from US ambassador Lynne M. Tracy echoed by UK envoy Nigel Casey was interpreted by leading Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan - head of the RT media empire - as warning of 'terrorist attacks'.
'The US and British embassies warned of the threat of terrorist attacks on March 8 in Moscow,' she said.
Anti-Western Simonyan urged the embassies: 'If you have specific information, it must be passed on through the intelligence services.
'I hope you did. And if not, then this is complicity.'
There had been no similar warnings from Russian state agencies.
Pro-Putin Telegram channel Zhukov Z said: 'This all sounds like a threat, because all terrorist attacks in Russia are directly or indirectly related to the activities of the CIA and their henchmen.'
Another pro-war channel Wargonzo said: 'The message was posted only on the English-language version of the [US] site the day before.
'It read ambiguously, and many media outlets took it as a warning about the threat of terrorist attacks.
'It is really unclear who the US Embassy is warning from, from patriotic Russians or from their charges – Ukrainian saboteurs.'
Independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe said: 'Events dedicated to International Women's Day are scheduled to take place in Moscow today.
'The singer SHAMAN will perform at Crocus City Hall, and a major concert will also take place at the Russia exhibition at VDNKh.'
The British FCDO currently advises against all travel to Russia, citing the war in Ukraine and the high threat of terrorism.
'Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Russia,' the department warns, suggesting indiscriminate attacks could be aimed at popular tourist sites; seasonal, festive or religious events in public places; areas not controlled by security; or transport networks.
'Terrorist attacks in Moscow and St Petersburg resulted in large numbers of casualties,' it claims.
'Russia's aviation has also been targeted. Security forces have disrupted several plots in major Russian cities.'
The FCDO also says there is a 'high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets' and advises vigilance.
For British nationals in Russia requiring consular assistance, it advises contacting its 24-hour helpline +7 495 956 7200 and selecting the option for consular services for British nationals.
At the start of the war, estimates on the number of British nationals in Russia varied widely from 6,400 to more than 22,000.
Dr Kevin Riehlem, lecturer at Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, said: 'The 8 March 2024 public announcement by the U.S. and UK embassies in Moscow of a planned terrorist operation in Russia likely has both a security and a counter-propaganda objective.
'The threat notification was announced publicly, not shared government-to-government (at least as far as we know). That shows where the level of dialogue stands.
'In addition to being a terrorist threat warning, the announcement likely also sends a message to the Russian people that Western governments are not their enemy, contrary to what the Russian government repeats over and over.'
Kevin lectures in Security and Intelligence Studies and spent longer than 30 years working in intelligence and counterintelligence with the Defense Intelligence Agency, US European command, and the FBI.
He has written dozens of books about Russian intelligence and defectors.
The FSB stated that during the arrest, the terrorists put up armed resistance and were neautralised by return fire as a result
Dead terrorists were seen laying on the floor of their hideout after FSB officers swooped in and thwarted the alleged massacre plans
The US and UK embassies in Moscow have warned that extremists are planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts, in the near future
The news of a terror warning came only hours after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to its notorious KGB agency, claimed to have thwarted an ISIS plot to slaughter Jews in a Moscow synagogue.
It is unclear whether the events are linked.
According to the FSB, a large cache of weapons and bomb parts were found during a raid on an Islamic State cell in Kaluga, southwest of the capital.
Russian state media reported militants had been gearing up to shoot Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in the capital before security officials stormed the premises and gunned them down.
'While being arrested, the terrorists put up armed resistance to the Russian FSB officers, and as a result were neutralised by return fire,' the Russian state-owned TASS news agency quoted the security service as saying in a statement.