A handful of Russian officials have suggested without evidence that Ukraine may have been involved in Friday’s attack on the Crocus City complex near Moscow.

Following the announcement that the four men alleged to have carried out the attack were apprehended near Russia’s border with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Telegram: “Now we know in which country these bloody bastards planned to hide from persecution – Ukraine.”

The head of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, told state news agency RIA Novosti that “Ukraine and its patrons are the main stakeholders in the terrorist attack at Crocus," adding that “if information about the Ukrainian trace in the terrorist attack is confirmed, there must be a clear answer on the battlefield."

Several Ukrainian agencies have categorically denied any connection with the attack.