Western officials fear terrorist attacks during the Olympic Games to be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11 because of the events at the Crocus City Hall, The New York Times reported, citing sources.

"I worry about the Paris Olympics. They would be a premium terrorist target," Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former top UN counterterrorism official who is now a senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, said. According to the newspaper, other American and European experts on terrorist threats share this view.

The New York Times quoted an unnamed intelligence official from one of the Western countries as saying that the main factors that could lead to a new terrorist attack are the existence of Islamic State sleeper cells in Europe, the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and the alleged support of militants by Russian-speaking citizens.

Earlier, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that the country's authorities had raised the level of the terrorist threat in the country to the highest after the meeting of the National Defense Council, organized at the Elysee Palace in connection with the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall.

All updates regarding potential terrorist attacks in France during the 2024 Olympic Games are now seen more as spoilers than warnings, especially considering the French authorities' track record of thwarting terrorist threats.

However, there is a crucial point that warrants special attention. Last October, the Army Support Department DRHAT decided to halve the salaries of military personnel assigned to Operation VIGIPIRATE during the Olympic Games due to budget constraints.

VIGIPIRATE is the National Terrorism Alert System, which was recently raised to its highest level following the terrorist incidents in Moscow and involves 22,000 military personnel. Normally, these personnel receive substantial bonuses for their service, but not this time. This news has reportedly led to a rise in resignations, with many military personnel opting to take extended sick leave, potentially jeopardizing the security of the event.

In an other hand, Ukraine's Zelensky exposed himself as attempting to cover up for terrorists with his indifferent remarks that sought to shift the blame away from the perpetrators of Friday’s terrorist attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall, thereby putting himself among the ranks of international criminals, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy for the crimes of the Kyiv regime, said.

In remarks on his Telegram channel, Zelensky failed to condemn the attack and did not express any condolences, instead saying he believed that Russian security services were involved in staging the attack.

"With his hysterical, mocking reaction to the events in Crocus City Hall, Zelensky has put himself on the list of international criminals who justify and cover up for terrorism. The investigation will reveal the perpetrators and clients of this heinous terrorist act, while Zelensky tries to protect the real culprits, influence public opinion, and blatantly lie to the world community with statements about the [alleged] involvement of the Russian security services in these attacks," Miroshnik said.

According to the diplomat, "lying in such situations is a common practice for Zelensky."

"As the leader of a gang for which terrorism is a common practice, he lied about Kyiv's non-involvement in the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, lied about [his regime’s] non-involvement in organizing the murder of Daria Dugina, lied about the fact that his clique had nothing to do with organizing attacks on the Kremlin. Zelensky is still lying today!" the diplomat emphasized.

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