Russian authorities say they have arrested eight Crimea bridge explosion suspects
Russian authorities say they have arrested eight individuals after an explosion rocked a key bridge linking Russia to Crimea.
The nation’s FSB security service says five of the suspects are Russian and three are Ukrainian.
Russia is claiming Kyiv is behind the attack, but a Ukrainian official has labeled the investigation as “nonsense”.
The bridge explosion was a major blow to Putin’s regime. The Russian president opened the bridge in 2018, four years after his annexation of Crimea.
Putin called it an “act of terrorism” and says it was aimed at destroying a critical piece of Russia’s infrastructure.
FSB officials say the blast was organised by “the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, its head Kyrylo Budanov, its staff and agents”.
But a spokesman for the directorate, has slammed these accusations.
“All the activities of the FSB and [Russia’s] Investigative Committee are nonsense. They are fake structures which serve the Putin regime, so we’re definitely not going to comment on their latest announcements.”
The new development comes as seven people were reportedly killed in an unrelated attack on a market in the eastern town of Avdiivka.
The head of the Donetsk region’s military says the strike took place during a peak period for the market and at least eight others were injured.
He has advised all residents of the region, which is partly Russian-occupied, to evacuate immediately.
