Nfter the explosion and serious fire on the strategically important bridge to the Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula, representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides blamed each other for the explosion. The prominent Russian foreign politician Leonid Slutsky spoke of a “terrorist attack”. If the Ukrainian trail in the attack is confirmed, “the consequences will be inevitable,” said Slutsky on Saturday in the Crimean capital Simferopol. “The answer should be harsh, but not necessarily frontal,” he said. Moscow has repeatedly threatened to target command centers in Kyiv if attacks continue.
According to Slutsky, who chairs the foreign affairs committee in the State Duma, numerous statements by prominent politicians in Ukraine suggest that Kyiv organized the attack. Ukrainian media had reported that the SBU secret service in Kyiv was behind the special operation. “This can be an act of state terrorism, for which, as we can see, there is applause in European capitals,” Slutski said.
Truck owner already identified
According to the Ukrainian Presidency, however, the trail of the truck bomb leads to Russia. “It is worth noting that according to all indications, the truck that exploded drove onto the bridge from the Russian side,” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podoliak said on Saturday. “So the answers should be sought in Russia,” Podoliak added. “All this clearly points to a trail to Russia.”
According to Russian sources, three people were killed in the explosion early on Saturday morning and seven tank wagons of a freight train caught fire. Traffic resumed on the bridge in the afternoon. It was initially unclear who might be behind the explosion.
The owner of the truck could be identified according to Russian information. Russian investigators said it was a resident of the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, without naming the man. Accordingly, investigations were initiated at his residence, the documented route of the truck will be checked.
The leadership in Moscow has always emphasized that the bridge is safe despite the military offensive in Ukraine. The Russian anti-terrorist committee initially gave no information about the incident. The president of the regional parliament deployed by Russia in Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, spoke of a blow by “Ukrainian vandals”.
