A Russian state TV host delivered an unhinged rant on Monday to millions of Russian viewers in which he suggested that British special forces were responsible for the devastating synagogue and church terror attacks in Dagestan this week.
The furious outburst is only the latest to try and pin the blame for the attacks on the West. It will add to fears of all-out conflict between the two sides, as the Kremlin ramps up its military rhetoric against the West and NATO.
Television presenter Vladimir Solovyov said that the British were behind the terrorist attack which left 20 people dead. Mr Solovyov is a strong ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and a chief propagandist for the Kremlin.
The popular host told viewers: “In whose interests is this taking place, exactly now, so that the ears of Ukraine would not be visible? Any manifestation of this kind of terrorist act inside our country – well, it is obvious who has always been behind this, the British. They [the British] have been very active, that is, they are always pouring petrol.”
He said: “We can see the hand of this behind-the-scenes mastermind who likes to arrange all this.”
Mr Solovyov added that British special services were “standing behind various terrorist groups” around the world. He did not offer any evidence for his claims.
The attack, which targeted police posts, churches, and a synagogue in Russia‘s North Caucasus republic, also left at least 46 people injured. The coordinated attacks unleashed carnage on the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala during the Orthodox festival of Pentecost.
An Orthodox priest, Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, had his throat reportedly slit by his attackers in the barbaric attack while a synagogue in Makhachkala was set alight.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Dagestan, the predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia which neighbours Chechnya, and borders Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the terror attack on militant Islam. It is just the third such atrocity in just over three months, following the massacre at the Crocus concert hall earlier this year.
However, others close to President Putin also blamed the West and NATO for the attacks.
State Duma Deputy Abdulkhakim Gadzhiyev said on Sunday that Ukraine and its backers within NATO were “no doubt behind the attacks” in an attempt to “destabilise our country from within”. He said that the West unleashed the attack after Russia gained the upper hand on the frontline in Ukraine.
Pro-Kremlin news site Komsomolskaya Pravda echoed this line of reasoning, as an editorial accused the “collective West” of trying “to open a second front” against Russia. The news site continued: “When it comes to unrest in this region traditionally it’s the ears of British intelligence that stick out.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was investigating whether the attacks in Dagestan were linked to a Ukrainian attacking using US-supplied ATACMS missiles in occupied Crimea on Sunday.
Russia has blamed the US and vowed “consequences” for the missile strike on Sevastopol on Sunday, which officials say killed four people – including two children. Around 150 more were injured in the attack as missile debris fell on a beach nearby.
Russia‘s defence ministry said the missiles were programmed by US specialists. Mr Peskov called the strike “barbaric” and accused the US of “killing Russian children”.
The Russian foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador Lynne Tracy on Monday, with Russia‘s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov claiming that US involvement in the attack was “not in doubt”.