President Putin Says Ukraine Behind the Crimean Bridge Blast
- japantimes.co.jp
VIVA – The Russian President, Vladimir Putin says and accuses Ukraine of being behind the explosion of the Crimean Bridge which connects the Russia-Crimean Peninsula on October 8, 2022, local time. Putin says that it was an act of terrorism.
According to BBC, President Putin said Ukraine's intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia's civil infrastructure. He was speaking at a meeting with the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin. Officials say three people were killed in the blast on the bridge.
"There is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying Russia's critical civilian infrastructure. Its authors, perpetrators, and beneficiaries are the security services of Ukraine." President Russia, Vladimir Putin said.
Ledakan di jembatan Krimea yang menuju Rusia
- AP Photo
Not only that, the Ukrainian side said anonymously that the Ukrainian was indeed behind the blast. He also added that Ukrainian intelligence services had orchestrated the explosion using a bomb loaded into a truck driving across the bridge.
Earlier, Russia's national anti-terrorism committee said in a statement that a truck exploded on the side of the bridge car, triggering the explosion of seven fuel tanks, which were being towed by a train on a parallel rail line heading towards Crimea.
Russian troops were unable to protect the bridge, despite the importance of the war effort, its self-interest to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the strong symbolism of the literal relationship between Russia and Crimea.
As reported by the New York Times on Sunday, October 9, 2022, a few hours after the explosion, the Kremlin appointed General Sergei Surovikin, another new commander, to oversee its troops in Ukraine.
Previous leadership reshuffles did little to improve the military's floundering performance. The bridge is a major military supply route linking Russia with the Crimean Peninsula.
According to analysts, without the bridge, the Russian military will be severely limited in its ability to bring fuel, equipment, and ammunition to Russian units fighting in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, two of the four Ukrainian provinces that Putin announced Russia had annexed on September 30, 2022.
