Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that the March 23 attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow was carried out by radical Islamist. However, he reiterated his claim that Ukraine had a role to play in the carnage that has claimed at least 139 lives.

“We know that the crime was committed by the hands of radical Islamists, whose ideology the Islamic world itself has been fighting for centuries,” Putin said. But the Russian President said “many questions” remained unanswered, including why the attackers tried to flee to Ukraine – a claim that Kyiv has rejected.

“Of course, it is necessary to answer the question, why, after committing the crime, the terrorists tried to go to Ukraine? Who was waiting for them there?” Putin asked.

“This atrocity may be just a link in a whole series of attempts by those who have been at war with our country since 2014,” he further said, referring to Ukraine and its allies.

Ukraine has described accusations it was involved as absurd. “Putin was talking to himself again, and it was again broadcast on television. Again, he blames Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Islamic terror group Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attack.