Margarita Simonyan, head of Russia's state-controlled RT news agency, has released a three-minute video on Telegram showing one of the Moscow attack suspects being interrogated.
The recording shows the suspect originally from Tajikistan saying he shot people at Moscow's Crocus City Hall "for money".
He said he traveled to Russia from Turkey after being contacted by Telegram about taking part in the attack, for which he was paid half a million rubles, or about $5,400.
When asked by whom he was contacted, he said that he did not know and that when he was contacted he did not have a name or other details, but he indicated that the people who contacted him also provided the weapons.
Russia's FSB security service claims it has arrested 11 people in connection with the attack in Moscow, including four people who directly took part in the attack.
Dialogue with the arrested:
Police: "What did you do at Crocus?"
The suspect: "We shot them."
Police: "Who?"
Suspect: "People".
Police: "For what?"
The suspect: "For money." Half a million rubles."
Police: Where did you get the weapons?
The suspect: "They handed over the weapons themselves."
Police: "Who are they?"
The suspect: "I don't know. They wrote from Telegram without a name, without anything."
????????????BREAKING: MOSCOW TERROR SUSPECT CLAIMS HE WAS RECRUITED VIA TELEGRAM
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 23, 2024
During his initial interrogation, he said he was paid to carry out the attack by someone who recruited him through the Telegram messaging service.
Police: "What did you do in Crocus?"
Suspect: “Shot.”… https://t.co/5YVwQ3oeoS pic.twitter.com/Nu9jKmJ1wA