Putin mouthpiece blasts Britain and US as embassies warn of ‘imminent extremist attack’
Vladimir Putin’s mouthpieces have blasted both Britain and the US after London and Washington warned an “imminent attack” could strike the Russian capital.
The embassies said “extremists” were planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow.
They also issued a warning to citizens to avoid events for the next two days.
It was not clear who is believed to have been plotting the attacks.
However, people have been told to avoid crowds, be aware of their surroundings and monitor local media for updates.
The UK and US also advised respective nationals against all travel to Russia.
Several concerts are due to go ahead in the capital connected to International Women’s Day.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled news outlet RT, expressed her anger over the intervention from London and Washington.
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She said: “The US and British embassies warned of the threat of terrorist attacks on March 8 in Moscow.
“[US citizens] are asked to avoid large gatherings for 48 hours… If you have specific information, it must be passed on through the intelligence services.
“I hope you did. And if not, then this is complicity.”
Simonyan added: “If you have specific information, it must be passed on through the intelligence services.
“I hope you did. And if not, then this is complicity.”
VGTRK journalist Andrey Rudenko also said: “Embassy stated that terrorist attacks are possible in Moscow in the next two days; a similar warning was also issued by the British Foreign Office.
“We understand perfectly well who could be the mastermind of terrorist attacks.
“And from these b*******s a warning about this looks like blackmail or a banal threat.”
Pro-Putin Telegram channel Zhukov Z wrote: “This all sounds like a threat because all terrorist attacks in Russia are directly or indirectly related to the activities of the CIA and their henchmen.”
Another pro-war channel Wargonzo said: “The message was posted only on the English-language version of the [US] site the day before.
“It read ambiguously, and many media outlets took it as a warning about the threat of terrorist attacks.
“It is really unclear who the US Embassy is warning from, from patriotic Russians or from their charges – Ukrainian saboteurs.”
Despite the criticism from supporters of Putin, Moscow also appeared to concede there is an increased threat across Russia.
Russia’s security agency FSB claimed to have foiled an Isis plot to slaughter Jews at a synagogue near the capital.