٠٠:٠٤:٥٦Aleksandr Bugakov, an eye witness to the Moscow region's terrorist attack, recounted his experience of evacuating from the Crocus City Hall and then returning to rescue a friend.
He shared that the five friends had planned to attend a concert of the music band Picnic. The first two, including Aleksandr, entered the hall before the others and fled through the exit behind the stage upon hearing gunshots. At the same time, two members of the friends' group were assisting Vladimir, who was unable to walk, through the main entrance of the concert venue just as the terrorists began to shoot.
"When they started shooting in the hall, we were already on the stairs to the stage. So, fragments scattered, these [bullets] flew. So people started falling down, I don't know who fell themselves, who got hit. When I was already crawling across the stage, fragments fell on me and bullets flew from above," Alexander recalled. "One of our guys, Volodya, could hardly walk at all. So he remained lying there. We gathered near the entrance, where the Tikkurila signboard is, and went in to get him out of there."
The survivor recounted that upon his return, he saw numerous bodies in the lobby as he searched for his friend.
"We helped Volodya to a chair and pushed him on an office chair, he's quite heavy, so we started to get him out. We got him out," Aleksandr recalled. "There were a lot of bodies there in the foyer. Dozens."
He further mentioned that friends arrived to escort Vladimir out of the Crocus City Hall as the assailants were escaping, and one of them attacked Aleksandr's friend with a knife.
"Lesha and Kolya took Volodya to the car, and Kirill bandaged up some person, there was a wounded man with a gunshot wound. That is, he took off his belt and tied it around. He looked up and saw someone coming at him with a knife, so he ran. That person (perpetrator of attack) caught up with him and stabbed him twice in the back. I picked up Kirill and dragged him to the ambulance," Aleksandr said.
Late on Friday, March 22, unidentified individuals dressed in military fatigues opened fire in the Crocus City Hall, a 6,000-seat multipurpose concert hall where a Russian rock band was set to perform. A massive fire broke out in the building shortly after.
At time of publication, over 140 people were reported to have been killed. On Sunday, March 24, the Basmanny Court of Moscow ordered a number of suspects to be remanded in custody until May 22, on charges of 'terrorism'.
President Vladimir Putin declared a day of mourning and described the attack as a 'barbaric terrorist act' in a televised address on Saturday, adding that the suspects had been detained close to the border.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin said.
On Monday, he said that 'radical Islamists' were responsible but also hit out at the US for 'trying through various channels to convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to their intelligence, there is allegedly no trace of Kiev in the Moscow terrorist attack'.
"We want to know who ordered it," he added.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also claimed the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and 'had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side'.
Ukraine has not responded to the latest claims made at time of publication. Following the attack, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it 'categorically denies' accusations of Kiev’s involvement.
US national security spokesperson John Kirby called the investigative committee's allegations 'nonsense and propaganda'. Earlier, the United States claimed that it was a ' terrorist attack that was conducted by ISIS' and that there was 'absolutely no evidence that the government of Ukraine had anything to do with this attack'.
'He looked up and saw someone coming at him with a knife' - Crocus City Hall attack survivor recalls helping injured friends
Aleksandr Bugakov, an eye witness to the Moscow region's terrorist attack, recounted his experience of evacuating from the Crocus City Hall and then returning to rescue a friend.
He shared that the five friends had planned to attend a concert of the music band Picnic. The first two, including Aleksandr, entered the hall before the others and fled through the exit behind the stage upon hearing gunshots. At the same time, two members of the friends' group were assisting Vladimir, who was unable to walk, through the main entrance of the concert venue just as the terrorists began to shoot.
"When they started shooting in the hall, we were already on the stairs to the stage. So, fragments scattered, these [bullets] flew. So people started falling down, I don't know who fell themselves, who got hit. When I was already crawling across the stage, fragments fell on me and bullets flew from above," Alexander recalled. "One of our guys, Volodya, could hardly walk at all. So he remained lying there. We gathered near the entrance, where the Tikkurila signboard is, and went in to get him out of there."
The survivor recounted that upon his return, he saw numerous bodies in the lobby as he searched for his friend.
"We helped Volodya to a chair and pushed him on an office chair, he's quite heavy, so we started to get him out. We got him out," Aleksandr recalled. "There were a lot of bodies there in the foyer. Dozens."
He further mentioned that friends arrived to escort Vladimir out of the Crocus City Hall as the assailants were escaping, and one of them attacked Aleksandr's friend with a knife.
"Lesha and Kolya took Volodya to the car, and Kirill bandaged up some person, there was a wounded man with a gunshot wound. That is, he took off his belt and tied it around. He looked up and saw someone coming at him with a knife, so he ran. That person (perpetrator of attack) caught up with him and stabbed him twice in the back. I picked up Kirill and dragged him to the ambulance," Aleksandr said.
Late on Friday, March 22, unidentified individuals dressed in military fatigues opened fire in the Crocus City Hall, a 6,000-seat multipurpose concert hall where a Russian rock band was set to perform. A massive fire broke out in the building shortly after.
At time of publication, over 140 people were reported to have been killed. On Sunday, March 24, the Basmanny Court of Moscow ordered a number of suspects to be remanded in custody until May 22, on charges of 'terrorism'.
President Vladimir Putin declared a day of mourning and described the attack as a 'barbaric terrorist act' in a televised address on Saturday, adding that the suspects had been detained close to the border.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin said.
On Monday, he said that 'radical Islamists' were responsible but also hit out at the US for 'trying through various channels to convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to their intelligence, there is allegedly no trace of Kiev in the Moscow terrorist attack'.
"We want to know who ordered it," he added.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also claimed the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and 'had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side'.
Ukraine has not responded to the latest claims made at time of publication. Following the attack, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it 'categorically denies' accusations of Kiev’s involvement.
US national security spokesperson John Kirby called the investigative committee's allegations 'nonsense and propaganda'. Earlier, the United States claimed that it was a ' terrorist attack that was conducted by ISIS' and that there was 'absolutely no evidence that the government of Ukraine had anything to do with this attack'.
Aleksandr Bugakov, an eye witness to the Moscow region's terrorist attack, recounted his experience of evacuating from the Crocus City Hall and then returning to rescue a friend.
He shared that the five friends had planned to attend a concert of the music band Picnic. The first two, including Aleksandr, entered the hall before the others and fled through the exit behind the stage upon hearing gunshots. At the same time, two members of the friends' group were assisting Vladimir, who was unable to walk, through the main entrance of the concert venue just as the terrorists began to shoot.
"When they started shooting in the hall, we were already on the stairs to the stage. So, fragments scattered, these [bullets] flew. So people started falling down, I don't know who fell themselves, who got hit. When I was already crawling across the stage, fragments fell on me and bullets flew from above," Alexander recalled. "One of our guys, Volodya, could hardly walk at all. So he remained lying there. We gathered near the entrance, where the Tikkurila signboard is, and went in to get him out of there."
The survivor recounted that upon his return, he saw numerous bodies in the lobby as he searched for his friend.
"We helped Volodya to a chair and pushed him on an office chair, he's quite heavy, so we started to get him out. We got him out," Aleksandr recalled. "There were a lot of bodies there in the foyer. Dozens."
He further mentioned that friends arrived to escort Vladimir out of the Crocus City Hall as the assailants were escaping, and one of them attacked Aleksandr's friend with a knife.
"Lesha and Kolya took Volodya to the car, and Kirill bandaged up some person, there was a wounded man with a gunshot wound. That is, he took off his belt and tied it around. He looked up and saw someone coming at him with a knife, so he ran. That person (perpetrator of attack) caught up with him and stabbed him twice in the back. I picked up Kirill and dragged him to the ambulance," Aleksandr said.
Late on Friday, March 22, unidentified individuals dressed in military fatigues opened fire in the Crocus City Hall, a 6,000-seat multipurpose concert hall where a Russian rock band was set to perform. A massive fire broke out in the building shortly after.
At time of publication, over 140 people were reported to have been killed. On Sunday, March 24, the Basmanny Court of Moscow ordered a number of suspects to be remanded in custody until May 22, on charges of 'terrorism'.
President Vladimir Putin declared a day of mourning and described the attack as a 'barbaric terrorist act' in a televised address on Saturday, adding that the suspects had been detained close to the border.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin said.
On Monday, he said that 'radical Islamists' were responsible but also hit out at the US for 'trying through various channels to convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to their intelligence, there is allegedly no trace of Kiev in the Moscow terrorist attack'.
"We want to know who ordered it," he added.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also claimed the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and 'had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side'.
Ukraine has not responded to the latest claims made at time of publication. Following the attack, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it 'categorically denies' accusations of Kiev’s involvement.
US national security spokesperson John Kirby called the investigative committee's allegations 'nonsense and propaganda'. Earlier, the United States claimed that it was a ' terrorist attack that was conducted by ISIS' and that there was 'absolutely no evidence that the government of Ukraine had anything to do with this attack'.