IMMINENT DANGER
UK & US issue urgent ‘extremist attack’ warning for TODAY as fears International Women’s Day gigs to be hit in Moscow
The threat level of potential attacks has been compared to the day Russia invaded Ukraine
THE UK and US have issued an urgent warning saying International Women's Day gigs could be targeted by "extremists" in Moscow.
Embassies in Russia say groups could attack “large gatherings” of innocent people in the capital and sent out chilling alerts to avoid busy areas.
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The serious warnings cover a 48-hour period - that started yesterday - and focuses on major events and celebrations related to International Women’s Day.
The annual celebration is seen as a major holiday in Russia with thousands expected to attend concerts across Moscow.
These worrying alerts come as a surprise to many as the US and UK rarely issue joint warnings over potential overseas attacks.
Russia hasn't officially voiced any similar concerns but state media said there could be terror-related threats.
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Initially the US embassy released a statement saying: "The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours."
People were told to keep a close eye on local media reports regarding any further updates and areas to avoid.
The UK Foreign Office then swiftly issued a very similar alert to Brits.
The government has advised Brits to avoid Russia altogether since the invasion of Ukraine due to the "unpredictable situation" there.
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The latest advice doesn't mention which "extremists" citizens should be wary of.
A chilling warning was also made by Russian independent outlet Important Stories, which compared the threat level to the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
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It reported: “Diplomats assess the likelihood of terrorist attacks as imminent - that is, they are confident in the reliability of this information.
“For comparison, in mid-February 2022, the US Embassy assessed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as ‘could be imminent’.”
US intelligence accurately predicted the start of the devastating war in Ukraine that has now dragged into its third year.
Russia at the time strongly denied any suggestion that Putin might invade neighbour.
US ambassador Lynne M. Tracy and UK representative Nigel Casey both gave public warnings about the worrying threats this week.
But leading Putin propagandist and head of the RT media group Margarita Simonyan said the pair were warning about “terrorist attacks” and urged them to keep all of Moscow safe.
She said: “The US and British embassies warned of the threat of terrorist attacks on March 8 in Moscow.
“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.”
Pro-Putin Telegram channel Zhukov Z also labelled the alert as terrorist related.
They 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.”
And pro-war channel Wargonzo went on to say the warnings were potentially aimed at undercover Ukrainians in Moscow.
Wargonzo read: “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.”
It comes after Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced they killed several ISIS militants yesterday over a potential planned terrorist attack on a synagogue in Moscow.
Russian state media reported that all the militants behind the plot were killed, say
It is unknown if that is related to the recent alerts.
Moscow often celebrates International Women’s Day in style with several major concerts and joyous, social events taking place each year.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
This year, the largest festival in the city will be at the Crocus City Hall where singer SHAMAN is scheduled to perform.
A second major concert is set to take place at the Russia exhibition at VDNKh.
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