The Russian government will respond to the Moscow concert hall attack with concrete but limited actions that will not eliminate the threat of future terrorist attacks in the country, while the Kremlin will use the massacre to maintain and potentially increase Russia's options in pursuit of its war in Ukraine. Hours after armed assailants attacked the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, killing over 100 people, the Afghanistan-based Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the assault. Over the past week, however, numerous high-ranking Russian officials -- including President Vladimir Putin -- have alleged Ukraine was involved in the deadly terrorist attack, while downplaying the ISKP threat. On March 25, Putin said the attack fit ''quite logically into the intimidation campaigns that Kyiv is carrying out'' and that Russia was interested in finding who gave the order to conduct the attack, noting that it was the United States that was...
