The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that Ukraine extradite the head of the SBU Malyuk

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia issued a statement on Sunday evening, in which it is confirmed that the Russian Foreign Ministry has submitted to the authorities of Ukraine demands for the arrest and extradition to Russia of persons whom Moscow considers to be involved in terrorist acts. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refers to international conventions on combating terrorism and threatens Ukraine with “international legal responsibility”.

Among other things, Moscow demanded the arrest of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasiliy Malyuk, who admitted, as stated in the text, “the organization of Ukraine’s bombing of the Crimean bridge in October 2022 and disclosed the details of the organization of the second terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation.”

The statement begins with the mention of the attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow on March 22, the victims of which were 144 people and the involvement of which the recognized terrorist organization “Islamic State” declared. Representatives of the Russian authorities insist that Ukraine is involved in the terrorist attack. In the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, it is stated only that this is “not the first terrorist attack” against Russia, and the attack on “Crocus City Hall” is put on a par with the blowing up of the Crimean bridge and attempts on a number of pro-military figures in Russia. “Investigative actions carried out by Russian competent authorities indicate that the traces of all these criminals lead to Ukraine,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserts, referring to the murder of Darya Dugina, Vladlen Tatarsky, the wounding of Zakhar Prilepin and the death of his driver, Alexander Shubin.

It is not clear how the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed to the Ukrainian authorities the demands for the arrest of Ukrainian citizens (apart from Malyuk, other surnames are not mentioned). Russia has been waging an aggressive undeclared war against Ukraine for the third year, during which, according to minimal estimates, tens of thousands of military personnel from both sides, as well as thousands of Ukrainian civilians, died.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv has not yet reacted to the latest statement. Earlier, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities categorically denied any involvement in the terrorist attack in “Crocus”, and Western countries warned Russia against trying to assign responsibility for it to Kyiv, claiming that the Russian authorities have no evidence of this version.

The head of the SBU previously stated that the Ukrainian special services were behind the two blasts of the Crimean bridge connecting Russia and annexed Crimea. Ukraine considers the bridge a legitimate military target. The representatives of Ukraine spoke only indirectly about the attempts on Dugyna, Tatarsky and Prilepin, noting that active pro-war propagandists can also be considered as legitimate targets.

• Four natives of Tajikistan were arrested on suspicion of the attack on “Crocus City Hall”. Russian investigators base their suspicions on Kiev on the fact that they traveled from Moscow to the Ukrainian border after the terrorist attack, as well as on allegations that they were allegedly in contact with some Ukrainian nationalists and received money from them in cryptocurrency (evidence of this was not presented). At the same time, IS has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack on Crocus, including publishing a video taken directly during the attack, allegedly by one of the attackers.
• Immediately after the detention, the four suspects were subjected to brutal treatment and, probably, torture, – messages about this, including photos and videos, were published by Russian, including radically pro-war, Telegram channels.