The Russian president did not initially blame Kyiv for the partial destruction of the bridge – widely seen as a symbol of Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014 and a major logistical artery for its troops waging war in Ukraine. But on Sunday night, Mr Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin: “There is no doubt. It is a terrorist act aimed at destroying critical political infrastructure.” “This was devised, executed and ordered by Ukrainian special services,” the Russian president added of the attack on the 18-kilometer (11-mile) 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 the findings of an investigation into Saturday’s bridge explosion, which is said to have killed three people. Although Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the attack, hardliners in Moscow had immediately called on Putin to declare an “anti-terrorist operation” in retaliation, dropping the term “special military operation” he used to downplay the scope of the war in Russian people. . Such a move could be used by the Kremlin to further expand the powers of security services, ban rallies, strengthen censorship, introduce travel restrictions and extend a partial military mobilization ordered by Mr Putin last month. – causing the exit of Russian soldiers of age. Gennady Zyuganov, the head of the Russian Communist Party, had insisted that the “terrorist attack” should serve as a wake-up call, saying on Saturday: “The long overdue measures have not yet been taken, the special operation must be reversed. in an anti-terrorist operation”. Such calls for escalation are likely to only increase in Moscow after the verdict of the head of the investigation, Mr Bastrykin, who claimed on Sunday night that Ukrainian special services carried out the attack with the help of citizens of Russia and other foreign states. The aftermath of the Kerch bridge explosion (AFP) Investigations have “already determined the route of the truck” that Moscow believes caused the explosion on the bridge, Mr Bastrykin said, arguing that the vehicle – which approached the bridge from Russia – was bound for Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia and the Russian Krasnodar region. Moscow said two road bridge spans partially collapsed, but that the arch spanning the channel through which ships travel between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov was not damaged. Rail traffic returned to normal on Saturday along with limited road traffic, Russia said. The Institute for the Study of War said the material suggested the damage from the explosion “is likely to increase friction in Russian logistics for some time” but would 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 by rail.” Crimea’s Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters that residents would cope despite the damage, adding: “Of course, they have caused emotions and there is a healthy desire to take revenge.” Hours after the attack, Mr Putin signed a decree ordering the FSB security service to step up security measures for the bridge and energy infrastructure between Crimea and Russia. The Russians also stepped up their attack on civilians after the attack on the bridge – killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens in a barrage of attacks on about 20 apartment buildings and houses in Zaporizhia, according to Kyiv. Firefighters respond to a residential building that was leveled by the explosion (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Despite the city being under Russian control and the area one of four that Mr Putin tried to annex in a sham referendum last month in the face of a mounting Ukrainian counter-offensive, it has come under repeated shelling, with 19 reported dead them in raids on Thursday. Zaporizhzhia resident Mucola Markovich, 76, described hiding under a blanket with his wife when they heard incoming rockets and explosions, saying: “There was one explosion and then another.” 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 was 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 all those who carried out this order: they will answer. They must. Before the law and the people”. The strikes came hours after Putin appointed a new top commander of his war in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovykin, the latest in a series of top military reshuffles this week. Said to have a reputation for “absolute cruelty”, Mr Surovikin is known for overseeing a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters during the failed 1991 coup against reformist Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and is accused of possibly overseeing crimes of war while commanding Mr. Putin’s forces in Syria. Ukraine’s intelligence chief had previously accused him of hitting civilians in recent months, saying: “Surovykin 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 recaptured more than 450 square miles of land in the southern Kherson region – where any major territorial losses would further threaten Russia’s supply lines to Crimea. Several hundred miles to the 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 “whole families” and recently born children . year. In Kharkiv, where thousands of square miles were retaken from Kyiv last month in a huge blow to Mr Putin, chief investigator Serhii Bolnivov claimed 534 bodies had so far been found in that area alone, along with 22 “torture chambers”. .
