On April 3, Russia claimed it had witnessed a considerable rise in the number of men signing contracts to join the military since last month’s terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow where armed attackers killed at least 144 people.

Russia has since blamed the attack on Ukraine despite dismissals from Kyiv and a claim of responsibility by Islamic State militants for the massacre.

Based on a Russian Defense Ministry statement, more than 100,000 people have signed contracts with the armed forces since the start of the year, including about 16,000 in the past 10 days alone.

“During interviews conducted over the past week at selection points in Russian cities, most candidates indicated the desire to avenge those killed in the tragedy that occurred on March 22, 2024 in the Moscow region as the main motive for concluding a contract,” the ministry declared.

Moreover, the ministry published a video citing one recruit, Oleg Ternov, as saying, “After the terrible events in Moscow, I don’t want to stand aside. I don’t want my own native town to see a tragedy like that.”

Notably, the reported recruitment rise follows a series of claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his security chiefs that Ukraine was behind the terrorist attacks and had the most to gain from it.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month that Moscow would boost its military by adding two new armies and 30 new formations by the end of this year.

Interestingly, the United States was quick to assert that the Islamic State bore sole responsibility, even before thorough investigations into the aforementioned attack were carried out. Furthermore, the United States claimed that its spy agencies had gathered intelligence of an impending operation and cautioned Moscow about it weeks earlier.

Russian officials have said the perpetrators of the attack were radical Islamists, although the crime may have been masterminded by Ukrainian special services who leveraged them as proxies. Additionally, Moscow claims to have evidence of a possible link between these Islamists and Ukraine, including money transfers stemming from Ukrainian nationalists. Putin also posited that the suspects directly involved in the attack were caught while escaping toward the Ukrainian border where “a window” to cross the frontier had been arranged for them.

Observers have pointed out that if the attack was only conducted by the Islamic State, more questions would arise as to why Russia did not act on the U.S. warning.

On April 3, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev, complained that the United States refuses to permit any talk of potential Ukrainian responsibility in the attack, as Washington is eventually accountable for Kyiv’s actions.

Patrushev claimed that Washington is determined to “impose” its preferred narrative about the attack.

“Identifying the mastermind and sponsor of the monstrous crime is what is most important. The trace leads to the Ukrainian special services,” he asserted.

“It is well known that the Kyiv regime is not independent and is fully controlled by the US. We should also take into account that ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations were created by Washington,” the official continued. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump claimed that then-President Barack Obama was the “founder of ISIS,” castigating fellow Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as the “co-founder” of the group.

On April 4, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that three individuals suspected of having links with the terrorist attack last month have been detained. The arrests were made in Moscow, Ekaterinburg, and Omsk, according to a statement from the agency. Two of the suspects are foreigners, while the third is a Russian citizen. All three hail from Central Asia, the FSB elaborated.

One of those arrested was allegedly directly involved in hiring the four gunmen who conducted the assault at the Crocus City Hall. Besides, this man also handled the financing of the operation, the FSB claimed. As for the other two suspects, both made donations toward the purchase of firearms and the vehicle used by the terrorists, the security services added.

The FSB published footage of the three arrests, but did not reveal the faces of any of the suspects.