Russian president discusses security situation at scene of 'heinous crime' in which 34 people died in twin suicide attacks
Russian president Vladimir Putin has flown to Volgograd, the scene of two suicide bombing attacks that killed 34 people, to meet victims and pay tribute to those who died.
Putin met local and federal officials at 6am local time to discuss the security situation in the country. In a televised speech, he said "the heinousness of the crime committed here in Volgograd needs no additional comments".
"No matter what motivates the criminals, there is no justification for the killing of civilians, especially women and children", the Russian president said. He stressed that Russian forces "do their utmost to protect women and children during their operations".
The first attack took place at Volgograd's busy main railway station on Sunday. The second bomb was detonated on a crowded trolleybus during the morning rush-hour on Monday.
After the meeting, Putin laid flowers at the site of the trolleybus attack and visited a local hospital where some of the injured have been taken. State television channels showed him offering words of reassurance to the patients and asking doctors whether the hospital was sufficiently equipped to deal with the injured.
Following the two deadly blasts, the Russian authorities launched a major security sweep in Volgograd, targeting underground jihadist cells and sympathisers of radical Islamist movements.
Putin's visit to Volgograd recalled memories of a similar dash to Chechnya in the early hours of 1 January 2000 – his first day as Russian leader after President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation on New Year's Eve. At that time, he visited the troops besieging Grozny in an apparent show of confidence after a series of devastating bombing attacks on apartment blocks in Moscow and other Russian cities.
This year, Putin had to re-record his traditional New Year TV address to the Russian people in order to mention the Volgograd blasts.
However, in what his spokesman described as a technical error, viewers in Russia's easternmost time zone, which covers Kamchatka and Sakhalin, watched the old, upbeat address seemingly recorded before the attacks.
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