Russia's FSB Chief: US, UK, Ukraine Could Be Behind Moscow Terror Attack

Bortnikov told reporters on Tuesday that the authorities are currently trying to establish the identity of everyone involved in the attack, both inside and outside Russia, RT reported.

When asked whether the US, Britain and Ukraine could have been behind the terrorist attack, the FSB chief responded, “We think that this is so. In any case, we are now talking about the information that we have. This is general information, but they [investigators] also have concrete results.”

The four gunmen responsible for the terrorist attack were planning to escape to Ukraine before they were apprehended by Russian law enforcement, he added.

The FSB chief said that it is currently believed that the four gunmen were being expected in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian side may have been preparing to open a “window” to allow them to cross the border.

Bortnikov admitted, however, that this version of events is still being examined and that it is too early to say if this information is fully accurate.

Nevertheless, he stated that authorities are currently trying to establish all the people involved in the attack, both inside and outside of Russia.

Asked if those who ordered the attack had expected the gunmen to be killed during the attack and avoid being captured alive by Russian security services, Bortnikov stated that the fact that they were trying to escape suggests that there was a plan for them to survive the ordeal.

”I’ll reveal a little secret. On the other side they were to be welcomed as heroes,” Bortnikov said.

In other statements to the media on Tuesday, the FSB boss also said that, according to his service’s intel, Ukraine had been involved in training fighters in the Middle East.