Putin: Crimea bridge blast 'terrorist act' done by Ukraine secret services
Russian President Vladimir Putin puts the blame squarely on Ukraine for a recent huge blast that targeted a bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean Peninsula.
"There is no doubt this is a terrorist act aimed at destroying critical Russian civilian infrastructure," Putin said on Sunday, during a meeting with the head of an investigation committee, which is looking into the incident.
"The authors, perpetrators, and sponsors are the Ukrainian secret services," the Russian head of state added.
The remarks came a day after a truck bomb went off on the arterial bridge, which hosts road and rail links between the Russian Federation and Crimea.
The bomb set fire to seven oil tankers that were being carried by rail to Crimea, sparking a massive blaze and killing three people. Dramatic social media footage showed a huge plume of smoke billowing out of the site of the incident, while parts of the bridge were seen plunging into the sea.
Speaking to Putin, the investigation committee's chief, Alexander Bastrykin said, "The individuals who took part in organizing the truck's movements" have been identified by Russian investigators.
Crimea joined Russia in a referendum held in 2014.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosion. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has, however, declared in a Twitter message that the bombing was “the beginning.”
The blast came amid a February-present Russian "special military operation" in Ukraine, which has been seeking to defend the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk's pro-Russian population against persecution by Kiev.
Also in 2014, the republics broke away from Ukraine, refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government there that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.
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