KRASNOGORSK, Russia, March  29, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - One week after Russia's
deadliest terror attack in two decades, mourners outside Crocus City Hall
expressed a mixture of grief, condolences for the dead and anger.

Russian rock band Piknik was moments away from performing last Friday when
gunmen stormed the venue, opened fire and set it ablaze, killing at least 143
people.

Amid the grief and confusion, the Kremlin has acknowledged "radical
Islamists" carried out the carnage, arresting 12 people including the four
alleged attackers from Tajikistan.

But it has directed much of its anger at arch-foe Ukraine. It insists that
Kyiv was intimately involved in the attack, despite having provided no evidence.

A few paces from the burnt-out building where rescuers had been searching
for bodies days before, a mound of flowers, hand-written notes and toys
continues to grow.

"Surely someone from Ukraine, some Ukrainian oligarch is behind this," a
man outside the concert hall told AFP.

"The perpetrators were Tajiks," a woman nearby said, "but I'm sure the one
who ordered it is Ukraine."

Kyiv and its Western allies have dismissed as absurd accusations that Kyiv
was involved.

The United States warned weeks before the massacre it was monitoring
reports extremists planned to attack mass gatherings, including concerts.

But the Kremlin has pushed back at suggestions it was warned in advance,
expressing full confidence in its security services, despite criticism over
their failure to thwart the attack.

- 'Pray for the dead' -

The massacre has also re-ignited a debate about re-introducing the death
penalty, an idea that has found sympathy among some hardline Russian lawmakers.

"I am in favour of introducing the death penalty in such situations," said
Katerina, a 29-year-old restaurant worker.

"Everyone would be accountable to God," she said.

A priest at the St. Nicholas Church, an unassuming Orthodox building
overlooking the concert hall, struck a more conciliatory tone.

"Be attentive to yourself and to your loved ones," he said.

"The most important thing is to love each other. When we live in love, it
is easier."

When asked whom he thought was behind the attack, he answered: "I don't
know."

Varvara Nikitina, a 33-year-old housewife, said she was there to "pray for
the dead".

"I came here today to do my duty," she told AFP.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has given no indication President Vladimir
Putin plans to visit the family members of those killed or go the scene of the
massacre.

The Russian leader was seen lighting a candle for the victims at a Moscow
church last week, but has not visited the scene of the attack or publicly met
with any victims.

"If any contacts are necessary, we will inform you accordingly," Peskov
said, when asked if Putin planned to meet families of the dead.