Putin: the Crimean Bridge explosion was an ‘act of terrorism’ by Ukrainian security service

Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that Ukrainian security services were responsible for planning and executing yesterday’s explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge, Interfax reports.

“There is no doubt – this was an act of terrorism, aimed at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation. And the planners, executors, and directors were Ukrainian security services,” Putin said during a meeting with Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

The radio station Mayak published a video of Putin’s announcement.

The head of the Investigative Committee said during the meeting that after the explosion, investigators opened a criminal case under the article on terrorist acts in the Russian criminal code. According to Bastrykin, “citizens of Russia and of foreign countries, who helped prepare this act of terrorism,” were involved in the incident. He added that the committee had given the FSB and Ministry of Internal Affairs instructions on operational investigative activities.

These were the Russian president’s first comments on the explosion on the bridge, which occurred on October 8.

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