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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that an explosion on a bridge to Crimea was caused by Ukrainian forces, describing the incident as a terrorist attack.
explosion he Said In public statements, it was a “terrorist attack aimed at destroying critical Russian civilian infrastructure” and accused “Ukrainian secret services”.
Putin added that he was told by the Russian Security Service (FSB) that the suspect behind the attack had been identified. Citing FSB information, Putin said that Ukrainian security forces had received Russian or foreign support.
The Ukrainian leadership has not claimed responsibility for Saturday’s explosion at a bridge over the Kerch Strait, but the incident sparked welcome messages from Ukrainian officials. It blew off half of it to show that the other half was still attached.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Kusnurin said divers began work on Sunday to investigate damage to the Crimean bridge and a more detailed survey above the waterline is expected to be completed by the end of the day, the Russian news agency said. reported.
Other details
The White House declined to directly comment on the explosion that destroyed the Crimea bridge on Sunday, but said the US will continue to arm Ukraine.
White House National Security Press Secretary John Kirby told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that he had “nothing to add to the reports of the bridge explosion.”
Russia’s federal counter-terrorism agency said on Saturday that a cargo truck exploded on the bridge road. Two spans of the road bridge partially collapsed, but the arch spanning the channel used by ships traveling between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov was undamaged.
Khusnullin wrote to Telegram on Sunday that the bridge was reopened to traffic on two lanes. He also posted a video showing traffic moving along the bridge.
“The road sections have had their lighting adjusted, new markings applied, and barrier fences restored,” says Kusnurin. Said“Now we can drive faster on the bridge.”
Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and four years later Russian authorities opened a 12-mile bridge connecting the region with transportation. The bridge is the main artery for the Russian army in southern Ukraine and the port of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based.
Kyiv is demanding that Russian forces leave the Black Sea Peninsula along with the Ukrainian territory Russia occupied at the start of the conflict in February.
nuclear warning
Meanwhile, Kirby and other White House officials do damage control after President Joe Biden publicly said last week that the world was headed for a nuclear “Armageddon” amid the war between Ukraine and Russia. I was forced to
“The president reflected the very high stakes that are being played right now,” Kelly said. Said ‘This Week’ by ABC.
“When there is a modern nuclear power plant, and the leader of that modern nuclear power plant, when Mr. Putin is willing to use irresponsible rhetoric several times in the last week or two, and tensions in Ukraine. The last few days,” he added. “So I think the president accurately reflected the fact that the stakes are very high right now.”
But Kirby stressed that Biden’s comments were not based on new information from the United States. Biden said at a Democratic fundraiser that the United States “has not faced the prospect of Armageddon since President Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis” in the 1960s.
He added on Sunday that U.S. officials have not seen new indicators that would force a change in the U.S. nuclear posture.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Jack Phillips is a New York-based breaking news reporter for the Epoch Times.
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