MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has established that the Crocus City Hall attackers sought to escape to Kiev, with a man coordinating their activities via Telegram, the committee said in a statement.
"After committing the crime, the terrorists got into a car and drove towards the Ukrainian border as instructed by the coordinator. They were supposed to cross the border and travel to Kiev to receive the reward they had been promised," the statement reads.
The defendants told investigators that "a man using an alias was coordinating their activities both during preparations for and after the armed attack on Crocus City Hall by sending them voice messages via Telegram."
Russia’s Investigative Committee said earlier that investigators had received evidence of Crocus City Hall attackers getting large amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, which they had used in preparing the terrorist act. According to the committee, initial investigation results fully confirm that the terrorists’ actions were carefully planned and the masterminds of the attack provided them with financial support.
On the evening of March 22, a terrorist attack targeted the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, just outside the Moscow city limits. According to the latest data, 144 people were killed and 382 people were injured, 217 of whom received outpatient care. All four perpetrators of the attack - Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakram Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Faizov - were apprehended on the same day. They were detained in the Bryansk Region, southwest of Moscow, as they attempted to flee to Ukraine across the nearby border. Investigators suspect five more people of being involved in the terrorist attack.