Putin blames Ukraine secret services for blast, calls it 'terrorism'
3 Min Read
Russian President Vladimir Putin reveals that Ukrainian special services authorized and carried out the explosion on the Crimea bridge.
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A photo of the burning Crimean Bridge
Ukrainian special services authorized and carried out the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, which was a terrorist attack aimed at destroying Russia's essential infrastructure, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin met with Russian investigative chief Alexander Bastrykin to examine the preliminary findings of the inquiry into the Saturday bombing on the Kerch Strait bridge.
"Here, as you have just reported, there is no doubt. This is a terrorist attack aimed at destroying the critical civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation," Putin said during the meeting, adding that "the authors and executors, those who ordered it are the special services of Ukraine."
Bastrykin verified Putin's statements, stating both Russian and foreign nationals assisted in the organization of this terrorist crime.
According to Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC), a truck exploded on the Crimean Bridge on Saturday, causing seven fuel tanks of a freight train to catch fire and two car spans to partially collapse.
The Russian Investigative Committee Director Alexander Bastrykin announced that investigators and personnel of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) have identified suspects in the terrorist attack on the Crimea bridge.
"We have already determined the route of the truck that was blown up. This is Bulgaria, this is Georgia, this is Armenia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar... The carriers have been identified. With the help of FSB officers, we were able to identify suspects among those who may have been plotting the terrorist attack," Bastrykin said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read next: Russia's State Duma: Crimea Bridge blast "declaration of war"
According to early data from the Russian Investigative Committee, the explosion on the Crimean Bridge killed at least three persons.
Earlier, head of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov said that "Ukrainian vandals managed to reach the Crimean Bridge with their bloody hands. They now have something to be proud of: for 23 years of their management, they failed to build anything worthy of attention in Crimea, but they managed to damage the canvas of the Russian bridge."
Late Saturday night, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that Russia has restarted railway service on the Crimean Bridge and that all planned passenger and freight trains will be allowed to cross.
