About 20 buildings, including schools and hospitals, were evacuated in Russia’s Kemerovo on Monday in the wake of online bomb threats by the user ‘Putin FSB’.
Last week, unknown individuals showered such messages on the cities of the Far East. Then the wave of alerts began to spill over to the west – to Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk and finally Kemerovo. Dozens of public buildings and hundreds of their residents have gone through evacuation.
In the letter, the authors use the New Year Eve’s tragedy in Magnitogorsk as an example. According to the authorities’ version, a blast of gas caused the collapse of part of the apartment block and the death of many dwellers.
“The clock is ticking, so we suggest you evacuate quickly. Do not repeat Magnitogorsk’s mistake, we did warn them as well… Think twice before you ignore the letter, it may save your life,” a sender nicknamed Putin FSB wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtKopPcj2qj/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=t75dwtp76j2u
‘They took away bedridden, only ICU was left’
First of all, the recent alert in Kemerovo exposed chief shortcomings in the work of municipal medical facilities, from which almost 3,000 patients and employees were to be immediately evacuated.
For instance, the bedridden patients were taken away from the Regional Medical Emergency Hospital, but the intensive care unit was left, an eyewitness told Belsat.
Two patients were transported from the Municipal Hospital to the building of the neighbouring Culture Center; some patients were not even told what was happening in the city.
“Nobody is evacuating us, but nurses were talking in whisper about something in the morning. But in our wing something has been pipping for a few hours, they say it is an alarm they cannot turn off,” a patient at one of the city’s hospitals told Belsat.
The local authorities called on the residents to keep calm. According to them, not a single threat has been confirmed.
“In view of special measures, we urge Kuzbass residents to be patient and show understanding. The sudden evacuation and interrupting work order are forced actions which are being taken only due to security concerns,” the officials said.
“The sender used digital telephony and electronic mail, but he/she is located outside the Russian Federation,” Omsk-based news portal Gorod 55 reported with reference to a source familiar with the situation.
‘Ukrainian scent’
A number of Russian Internet users suspect Ukrainians of being involved in the recent bomb hoaxes; they recall Ukrainian prankster Yevhen Volnov who gained notoriety for spreading fake news. For example, after March’s blaze in Kemerovo, he is said to have pushed the version about 300 dead persons onto the social media.
The nickname of the author of warnings is not accidental, many webizens stress.
Roman Yanchenko, Kemerovo, belsat.eu
