Alexander Vershbow

Inserted 1 month ago

“It seems kind of unbelievable that Russian security services missed this. Clearly, it was an intelligence failure for this to happen in such a prominent venue right on the beltway of Moscow, and to have such a serious death toll despite those small number of terrorists that appear to have actually perpetrated the act. The Russians may choose to link this [terrorist attack] to their war against the collective West and hold the U.S. and its Ukrainian proxies - as they might call them - ultimately responsible. I wouldn't be at all surprised. If they decide to emphasize the U.S. and Ukraine link, then I think we can anticipate very harsh measures at home in the wake of this intelligence failure.”

Rferl

Former U.S. envoy to Moscow, analyst at the Atlantic Council