RUSSIAN authorities made another attempt today to pin the blame for the deadly massacre at a Moscow concert hall on Ukraine.

The Investigative Committee (IC), Russia’s top law enforcement agency, alleged that one of the detained suspects had had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag.

Ever since the March 22 mass shooting and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, which killed 145 people, Russian officials have claimed that Ukraine was involved in the massacre.

Kiev has continued to deny any role in the attack and an affiliate of jihadist death cult Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility.

Nonetheless, the IC said in a statement today that authorities had found photos on one of the suspects’ phones of “people in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag against the background of destroyed houses.”

The phone also bore an image of a Ukrainian postage stamp with an obscene message, the committee said. It did not release the image.

The IC also said that one of the suspects had sent images of access roads and entrances to the concert hall to their handler on February 24, the second anniversary of Russia launching its invasion of Ukraine, which it claimed might suggest a link.

The day after the attack, authorities said that they had captured four of the suspected gunmen in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. 

Russian authorities claim that they were on their way to Ukraine.

The four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on terrorism charges. 

A number of alleged accomplices have been arrested in several Russian regions and detentions of people possibly linked to the attackers were also reported in Tajikistan.

The attack occurred two weeks after the US embassy in Russia issued a warning about a possible attack on a large gathering in Moscow. 

The US State Department claims to have passed information about the threat to Russian officials.