It's a terrorist attack': Putin blames Ukraine for Crimean bridge blast

 It's a terrorist attack': Putin blames Ukraine for Crimean bridge blast

The head of the investigative committee said citizens of Russia and abroad assisted Ukrainian special services in preparing the attack.

• Putin called the blast on the Crimean bridge on Sunday a "terrorist attack"

• He blamed Ukrainian special services for the attack

• A truck exploded on a road bridge on Saturday

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called the blast on the Crimea bridge a "terrorist attack" aimed at destroying the country's critical civilian infrastructure.

TASS news agency reported that Putin blamed Ukrainian special services for the attack on a major bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia.

"It is as you said, there is no doubt [about it]. This is a terrorist act aimed at destroying the critical civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation. It was ordered by the special services, wrote And done. Ukraine, ”Putin said at a meeting with the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin.

Read also: Putin signs a decree to tighten security after the explosion on the Crimean bridge

The head of the investigative committee said citizens of Russia and abroad assisted Ukrainian special services in preparing the attack.

On Saturday, a truck exploded on a road bridge, setting fire to seven fuel tanks of a train bound for the Crimean peninsula. According to media reports, three people died in the blast, due to which two sections of the road bridge also partially collapsed.

Soon after, the Kremlin said Putin had signed a decree on enhancing security measures for the Crimean bridge. In the decree, Putin also called for securing an energy bridge and gas pipeline connecting the peninsula to mainland Russia.

“The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation shall be vested with the right to organize and coordinate security measures for the Kerch Strait transport crossing, the energy bridge of the power grid between the Russian Federation and the Crimean Peninsula, as well as the main gas pipeline. During their operation, between the Krasnodar Territory and the Crimea," TASS quoted the document.

This is done to increase the efficiency of safety measures for transport crossings, energy bridges and gas pipelines in the Kerch Strait, the report said.

After a major explosion on a crucial strategic bridge linking Crimea and Russia, media reports said Putin is planning to hold a steering meeting of his Security Council on Monday.

The bridge was opened by Putin in 2018, four years after Moscow annexed Crimea, and was designed to connect the peninsula to Russia's transport network.

The 19-kilometre bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and links Crimea with mainland Russia, includes a railway and vehicle sections. It became fully operational in 2020.