President Vladimir Putin of Russia has accused Ukraine of committing an “act of terrorism” by destroying the bridge leading to Russian-annexed Crimea.
President Putin stated that Ukrainian intelligence troops intended to damage a vital component of Russia’s infrastructure.
He was speaking during a meeting with Alexander Bastrykin, the chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia.
According to officials, three persons were killed in the bridge explosion.
The victims were in a neighboring automobile when a truck exploded, according to Russian officials.
Putin stated, “There is no question that this is a terrorist attack aimed at destroying Russia’s vital civilian infrastructure.”
“Its creators, perpetrators, and beneficiaries are the Ukrainian security services.”
Mr. Bastrykin stated that residents of Russia and some foreign nations assisted in the attack’s planning.
Investigators have determined, according to Mr. Bastrykin, that the truck that allegedly exploded traveled via Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia, and Krasnodar Territory.
He has ordered a probe into the event that caused portions of roads to collapse.
The Ukrainian government has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, disputed Mr. Putin’s accusation.
He said that there is “just one terrorist state here” and that “the entire globe is aware of its identity.”
“Putin charges Ukraine with terrorism? It seems perhaps too cynical for Russia “he said.
Saturday night, in his nightly speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky recognized the incident by stating, “Today was not a bad day and generally sunny on our state’s territory.”
“Unfortunately, the weather in Crimea was cloudy. However, it was also warm “he added.
The Russian authorities partially reopened the bridge’s roadway for limited traffic barely hours after the incident.
The section of the bridge where oil tankers caught fire has also been reopened.
The longest bridge in Europe, measuring 19 kilometers (12 miles), is a crucial supply route for Russian forces battling in Ukraine.
Russia has utilized the bridge to transport military equipment, ammunition, and soldiers from Russia to the southern Ukrainian battlefields.
Mr. Putin inaugurated it in 2018, four years after Russia annexed Crimea.
At the time of the explosion, security camera footage shared on social media showed a truck – apparently from the Russian city of Krasnodar, an hour’s drive from the crossing – driving west across the bridge.
The video shows a massive fireball exploding behind and to one side of the truck as it prepares to ascend an elevated portion of the bridge.
Suspicious was the rate at which the truck bomb scenario began to propagate in Russian circles. It appeared the Kremlin preferred a terrorist act to a more dangerous possibility: that this was an ambitious act of sabotage perpetrated by Ukraine.
A former British army explosives expert told me, “I’ve seen my fair share of massive vehicle-borne IEDs [improvised explosive devices]” “This does not look like one.”
A more realistic hypothesis, according to him, is a large explosion beneath the bridge, perhaps caused by a clandestine marine drone.
“Bridges are typically constructed to withstand downward stresses on the deck and a certain amount of wind-induced side loading,” he explained. “Typically, they are not designed to resist upward stresses. I believe this information was utilized in the Ukrainian attack.”
Some observers have observed that in one of the other security camera recordings, something resembling the bow wave of a small boat can be seen near one of the bridge supports a fraction of a second before the explosion.
