A red-faced Vladimir Putin has branded the attack on a bridge in Crimea a ‘terror attack’ and blamed Ukrainian special forces for the explosion which severely damaged the key link to the Russian mainland.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with his Security Council tomorrow, the livid Russian president said the blast at the Kerch bridge was designed to destroy ‘critically important civilian infrastructure. He declared that the attack was a terrorist incident, a move that could open the door for further escalation in the war that has raged in Ukraine since Russia’s illegal invasion in February.
Lord Dannatt, former head of the British Army, said among other things the authoritarian leader could order the indiscriminate shelling of Ukrainian cities and could even ‘go nuclear’. However, the Kremlin has played down fears from some Western observers that it could use nuclear weapons in retaliation, saying it is ‘completely incorrect’ that it is considering using them in response.
Russian governors have threatened revenge missile attacks after the destruction of the bridge on Saturday morning, which was considered to be one of his pet projects. There will be clamoring from within the country for a decisive strike back against Ukraine as it reels from the destruction of what had been a symbol of Russian power in Crimea following its annexation of the peninsula in 2014.
The bridge, which spans 19km from Crimea to the Russian mainland, has been used as one of the main supply routes for Russian troops since the illegal invasion earlier this year, allowing Putin to resupply and back up forces occupying Kherson and other southern regions of Ukraine. Its destruction in a huge blast in the early hours of Saturday morning was a huge blow to the Russian war effort and was a slap in the face for the Russian president.
In a video released on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel today, Putin laid the blame at Ukrainian special forces while meeting with Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, who was presenting findings of an inquiry into Saturday’s explosion and fire on the bridge.
The Russian president said: ‘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.’ Mr. Bastrykin said he had opened a criminal case into an act of terrorism and added that while Ukrainian soldier had taken part, citizens of Russia and other countries also took part in the act.
He said investigations ‘have already established the route of the truck’ that Russian authorities said set off a bomb and explosion on the bridge. Mr. Bastrykin said the truck had been to Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar (a region in southern Russia), and other places. (SOURCE)
