Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of attacking Crimea bridge in ‘act of terrorism’

Russian president says there is ‘no doubt’ Ukraine is behind attack

Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack on a key bridge linking Crimea to Russia, in what he labelled an “act of terrorism”, raising the prospect of harsh retaliation.

The Russian president had initially stopped short of blaming Kyiv for the partial destruction of the bridge – viewed widely as symbolic of Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014 and a major logistical artery for his troops waging war on Ukraine.

But on Sunday night, Mr Putin said in a video published by the Kremlin: “There is no doubt. This is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure.”

“This was devised, carried out and ordered by the Ukrainian special services,” the Russian president added of the attack on the 18km ( 11 miles) bridge he personally commissioned and opened in 2018.

His comments came as he met Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, who was presenting findings of an inquiry into the explosion on the bridge on Saturday, said to have killed three people.

While Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack, hardliners in Moscow had immediately urged Mr Putin to declare a “counterterrorism operation” in retaliation, shedding the term “special military operation” he has used to downplay the scope of the war to the Russian people.

Such a move could be used by the Kremlin to further broaden the powers of security agencies, ban rallies, tighten censorship, introduce restrictions on travel, and expand a partial military mobilisation that Mr Putin ordered last month – prompting an exodus of draft-age Russians.

Gennady Zyuganov, the head of the Russian Communist Party, had insisted the “terror attack” should serve as a wake-up call, saying on Saturday: “The long-overdue measures haven't been taken yet, the special operation must be turned into a counterterrorist operation.”

Such calls for escalation will probably only increase in Moscow following the verdict from inquiry chief Mr Bastrykin, who alleged on Sunday night that Ukrainian special services had carried out the attack with help from citizens of Russia and other foreign states.

The aftermath of the explosion on the Kerch bridge (AFP)

Investigations “have already established the route of the truck” that Moscow believes caused the explosion on the bridge, Mr Bastrykin said, claiming that the vehicle – which approached the bridge from Russia – had been to Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia, and the Russian region of Krasnodar.

Moscow said two spans of road bridge had partially collapsed, but that the arch spanning the channel through which ships travel between the Black Sea and Azov Sea was not damaged. Rail traffic resumed as normal on Saturday along with limited road traffic, Russia said.

The Institute for the Study of War said footage suggested the damage from the explosion “is likely to increase friction in Russian logistics for some time” but will not significantly affect Russia’s ability to equip its troops.

“The collapsed lane of the road bridge will restrict Russian military movements until it is repaired, forcing some Russian forces to rely on the ferry connection for some time,” the US-based think-tank said. “Russian forces will likely still be able to transport heavy military equipment via the railroad.”

Crimea's Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters that residents would cope despite the damage, adding: “Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge.”

Hours after the attack, Mr Putin signed a decree ordering the FSB security service to tighten security for the bridge and for energy infrastructure between Crimea and Russia.

The Russians also intensified their assault on civilians in the wake of the bridge attack – killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens in a barrage of strikes on some 20 apartment blocks and houses in Zaporizhzhia, according to Kyiv.

Firefighters respond at a residential building levelled in the blast (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Despite the city being under Russian control, and the region one of four which Mr Putin sought to annexe with sham referenda last month in the face of an ascendant Ukrainian counterattack, it has come under repeated bombardment, with 19 reported to have died in strikes on Thursday.

Zaporizhzhia resident Mucola Markovich, 76, described having hidden under a blanket with his wife when they heard incoming rockets and blasts, saying: “There was one explosion, then another one.” Then, in a flash, their fourth-floor apartment was gone, he said.

“When it will be rebuilt, I don’t know,” Mr Markovich said. “I am left without an apartment at the end of my life.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the “merciless” overnight attacks as “absolute evil”, adding: “From the one who gave this order, to everyone who carried out this order: they will answer. They must. Before the law and the people.”

The strikes came hours after Mr Putin appointed a new senior commander of his war in Ukraine, Gen Sergei Surovikin, the latest in a series of reshuffles of top military brass this week.

Said to have a reputation for “total ruthlessness”, Mr Surovikin is known for overseeing a fatal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators during the failed 1991 coup against reformist Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and is accused of potentially overseeing war crimes while commanding Mr Putin’s forces in Syria.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief has previously blamed him for strikes on civilians in recent months, saying: “Surovikin knows how to fight with bombers and missiles, that’s what he does.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s counteroffensive continues, with a military official claiming on Sunday that Kyiv had retaken more than 450 square miles of land in its southern Kherson region – where any major territorial losses would further threaten Russia’s supply lines to Crimea.

Several hundred miles northeast, in the recently recaptured Donetsk city of Lyman, The Independent was told of mass graves left in the wake of retreating Russian forces said to contain around 200 bodies, including those of “entire families” and children born as recently as last year.

In Kharkiv, where thousands of square miles were retaken by Kyiv last month in a huge blow to Mr Putin, chief investigator Serhii Bolnivov alleged that 534 bodies had been found so far in that region alone, along with 22 “torture chambers”.