Moscow blamed Kyiv and its western allies for an explosion on a major bridge linking Russia with occupied Crimea, which killed a couple and injured their daughter and damaged a crucial supply route for Moscow’s invasion force in southeastern Ukraine.
It is the second time that the 19km span has been hit by an explosion since Moscow launched its full invasion of Ukraine last year, disrupting military and civilian traffic to the Black Sea peninsula and mangling a high-profile pet project of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who said his country was preparing a “response”.
Ukrainian officials did not publicly confirm the country’s involvement in Monday’s predawn explosion, but several Kyiv media outlets cited unnamed sources as saying the Ukrainian navy and SBU security service carried out the attack using marine drones.
SBU press secretary Artem Dekhtyarenko was quoted as saying that all details of the explosions would be revealed “after victory”.
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“Currently, we are watching with interest as one of the symbols of Putin’s regime once again failed to withstand a military load,” he added.
Mr Putin was briefed on the explosions and Russia’s investigative committee described the incident as “a terror attack committed by Ukrainian special services”.
Video footage from the scene showed one carriageway of the bridge badly listing, while cars were backed up on the other carriageway and the railway section of the span appeared to be still carrying trains. Last October, a truck bomb blew up a section of the bridge and it took months to fully repair.
Traffic jams several kilometres long were reported as Russian holidaymakers in Crimea were advised to use ferries or take a long detour through occupied southeastern Ukraine to reach home.
“Of course, there will be a response from Russia. The ministry of defence is preparing appropriate proposals,” Mr Putin said, denying that the bridge was a military supply route.
“Given that a second terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge has now taken place, I await specific proposals on improving the security of this strategically important transport link,” he told officials.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kyiv regime. This regime is terrorist and has all the hallmarks of an international organised crime group.
“Decisions are made by Ukrainian officials and the military with the direct participation of American and British intelligence agencies and politicians. The US and Britain are in charge of a terrorist state structure,” she added, without offering evidence for her claim.
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As its invasion of Ukraine has suffered repeated setbacks, Russia has taken to portraying the war as an existential battle between its forces and a hostile “collective West”.
“The collective West bears full responsibility for this terrorist attack on a civilian infrastructure facility as the backer and handler of the neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv, said Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international affairs committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament.
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Meanwhile, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said fighting was “difficult” in the partly occupied east of the country.
“The enemy is intensely redeploying additional forces and means to this area, mainly airborne troops, in order to stop the offensive of our troops in the Bakhmut area,” he said.
“At the same time, the enemy launched an offensive in the Kupiansk direction, aiming to defeat our troops in the Kupiansk area and continue the offensive deep into our combat formations.”
