Putin denounces Crimean Bridge explosion as terrorist act

Moscow, Russia |  Xinhua | The explosion on the Crimean Bridge was no doubt a terrorist act aimed at destroying Russia’s critical civilian infrastructure, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday.

“Ukraine’s special services were the initiators, performers and masterminds,” Putin said when meeting with Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin.

Confirming Putin’s statement, Bastrykin said that citizens of Russia and foreign countries were also involved in the incident.

“We have already established the route of the truck which exploded. It drove through Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia, and the Krasnodar Territory,” Bastrykin said.

“We have also identified the carriers … With the help of FSB (Federal Security Service) agents, we were able to identify suspects from among those who could have arranged the terrorist act and those who are active within the Russian Federation,” he added.

On Saturday, a deadly blast hit the 19-km Crimean Bridge, which consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains over the Kerch Strait.

A truck exploded on the road bridge, causing seven fuel tanks of a train heading to the Crimean Peninsula to catch fire. Three people were killed in the blast, which also led to the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge.

The incident on the Crimean Bridge was a special operation carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the Interfax-Ukraine news agency cited its source in Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies as saying. The SSU hasn’t commented on the incident yet. ■