Putin's inner circle doubts link between Ukraine and Moscow attack

Part of Russian president Vladimir Putin's inner circle believes there is no evidence linking Ukraine to the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, reports Bloomberg.
Four unnamed individuals with close ties to the Kremlin revealed that Putin was present at meetings where it was concluded that Ukraine was not involved in the attack. However, Putin, as before, intends to use the tragedy to rally Russian citizens against Ukraine, another source of the news agency clarified.
Bloomberg's sources also shared that the Kremlin was shocked that Russian security services failed to prevent the shooting at the shopping center.
"Almost nobody they know within Russia’s political and business elite believes Ukraine was behind the assault, the people said," the article stated.
The US Institute for Study of War (ISW) said that Russian officials are proposing actionable but likely impractical solutions to the emotional outcries for retribution in response to the Crocus City Hall attack.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Kremlin officials appear to be struggling to maintain a consistent rhetorical line about the Crocus City Hall attack, indicating that the Kremlin has not fully figured out how to reconcile its information operations with the reality of its intelligence and law enforcement failure,” ISW said.
On March 22, unknown gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall with firearms and began shooting civilians. This occurred during a concert at the mall, where there was a large gathering of people.
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly accused Ukraine of the attack. He claimed that the organizers of the shooting allegedly tried to cross the border into Ukraine.
Interestingly, even his ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, refuted Putin's version. He noted that the terrorists were headed to Bryansk.