Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Ukraine of an explosion that damaged the Kerch Bridge, which connected Russia to annexed Crimea, and called the incident “a terrorist act.”
“There’s no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Putin said in a Sunday meeting with the chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee. “And the authors, perpetrators, and those who ordered it are the special services of Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the Russian president will convene with his Security Council on Monday in a meeting with no stated agenda, according to Bloomberg.
The Russian president reportedly last met with the council ahead of his order to partially mobilize hundreds of thousands of Russians to aid his war efforts.
According to reports, a truck blew up at one end of the Kerch bridge, igniting several train fuel tanks and collapsing part of the bridge. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosion.
The blast impeded travel across the bridge, which has also become a symbol of Russia’s hold on Crimea.
Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and began occupying the territory, eventually holding a referendum and annexing the territory.
Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Putin recently moved to hold Kremlin-controlled referendums and annex occupied regions of eastern and southern Ukraine.
England’s Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update Sunday that the Kerch bridge incident, which occurred shortly after Putin’s birthday, will likely be taken as a personal attack.
The Moscow leader has already appeared to be reeling from battlefield setbacks resulting from Ukraine’s revamped counteroffensive, as well as from discontent within his own country after his efforts to call up Russian reservists.
Ukrainian officials reported Sunday that Zaporizhzhia, the city surrounding Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, was impacted by Russian strikes that killed at least 17 shortly after news broke of the partial Kerch bridge collapse.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the incident, according to a Telegram post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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