ISTANBUL

Russia on Monday said the current US administration is “intensifying efforts” to create a “distorted picture” of the March 22 concert hall attack in Moscow region that killed 144 people.

The Foreign Intelligence Service in a statement said Washington risks being suspected of involvement in “international terrorism” by providing aid to Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" more than two years ago.

“The Americans are unable to achieve a unified assessment of the tragedy near Moscow even among NATO and EU members, not to mention the states of the Global South,” the statement said.

The intelligence service said the US began to defend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately after the attack, which “seems reckless to many in the West, and suspicious to many in the East.”

The press release claimed that Kyiv uses satellite information provided by American intelligence when preparing an attack on Russia.

At least 144 people were killed and more than 382 others injured on March 22 when gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast. Russia has charged four people for being directly involved in the attack.

The US maintains the attack was carried out by a branch of the ISIS/Daesh terror group. The Ukraine has also denied any involvement in the attack.

President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the shooting was carried out by radicals, but said Russia wanted to know more such as who ordered it.