President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday compared Ukraine's incursion into Russia to the 2004 Beslan school massacre, where around 330 people perished during a hostage siege. Putin made his first visit to the school in nearly two decades, honoring the victims at various memorials, including a cemetery and the site of the demolished school, where Chechen militants held over 1,000 people captive. During a meeting with mothers who lost their children in the siege, Putin stated that Russia's adversaries are once again attempting to destabilize the nation, pointing to Ukraine. "Just as we battled the terrorists, today we must confront those committing crimes in the Kursk region," Putin remarked, referring to Ukraine's cross-border offensive that commenced two weeks prior. "But just as we accomplished our objectives in the fight against terrorism, we will also achieve these objectives in this direction against the neo-Nazis," Putin added, seated across from three members of the Mothers of Beslan group. "And we will certainly bring the criminals to justice, there is no doubt about that," Putin further stated. The Mothers of Beslan group has persistently demanded an impartial investigation into the attack and the Russian government's response. The September 2004 siege lasted approximately 50 hours, culminating in a gun battle when Russian special forces raided the building after explosions in the school gym, where the hostages were detained. The siege in the North Ossetia region of the Caucasus occurred during a guerrilla insurgency by Chechen separatists, labeled "terrorists" by Putin. Putin initiated a significant Russian offensive to suppress Chechnya's armed struggle for independence at the end of 1999, just weeks before assuming the presidency. The war against the Chechen insurgency bolstered Putin's initial popularity, but by the end of 2019, he characterized the Beslan siege as a "personal pain" that would forever linger with him. Putin and the Kremlin faced criticism for their management of the attack at the time.