Explosion on bridge linking Russia and Crimea was a Ukrainian security services operation, say Ukrainian sources

The explosion on the bridge between Crimea and Russia was an operation of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reports Ukrainian Pravda, citing a source in law enforcement. The Ukrainian Independent News Agency (UNIAN) reported the involvement of the SBU, citing its own source in law enforcement.

The Ukrainian security service has made no official announcement about responsibility for the explosion. SBU spokesman Artem Degtyarenko told Ukrainian Telegram channel Politika Strana that the service had no comment on the news. “We will comment on the role of SBU or any other governmental bodies in the incident after our final victory,” he said.

Politika Strana writes that the main version of events features a Ukrainian special operation, but also put forward a conspiracy version about Russian special services, allegedly operating on orders from “groups in the Kremlin,” seeking to escalate the war.

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• The Ukrainian defense ministry and the SBU have not officially taken responsibility for either the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, in April, or for explosions at a military airfield in Crimea, in August, however they have also not denied involvement in the incidents.
• Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the formation of a commission to investigate the cause of the incident. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has opened a criminal case on the explosion of a truck on the bridge, but has not specified which article of Russia’s criminal code it will come under.