Ukraine intelligence agency orchestrated Crimean Bridge blast

Moscow, Oct 9 (IANS) The blast that damaged Russia's strategic Crimean Bridge and killed at least three people was orchestrated by Ukraine, the New York Times and Washington Post both reported, citing sources, the media reported.

A senior Ukrainian official interviewed by the New York Times claimed that Kiev was behind the explosion, adding that the attack was masterminded by Ukraine's intelligence services, which had arranged a bomb to be planted on a truck that was driving across the bridge, RT said in a report.

This claim was echoed by the Washington Post, which, citing a Ukrainian government official, also attributed the explosion to the country's special services.

This version was backed by the news site Ukrainska Pravda, which, quoting a source in the country's security services, said that the intelligence agency, called the SBU, was behind the attack, RT reported.

While Ukrainian officials did not explicitly take responsibility for the attack, they cheered it.

An aide to President Vladimir Zelensky, Mikhail Podoliak, said that the explosion was "just the beginning", adding that "everything illegal must be destroyed".

Since Russia launched its military campaign in late February, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly promised to attack the bridge, which serves as a strategic link between Russia's Crimean peninsula and its Krasnodar Region.

While the Kremlin did not directly accuse Kiev of staging the explosion, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Ukraine's reaction to the incident is a testament to the "terrorist nature" of its leadership.

Meanwhile, Crimean officials directly pointed the finger at Kiev. Vladimir Konstantinov, the head of the republic's State Council, claimed that "Ukrainian vandals have finally managed to get their bloodstained hands on the Crimean Bridge".

The powerful blast rocked the bridge early Saturday morning, causing a partial collapse of the road on the vehicle section, as well as a blaze on a parallel railway span where seven fuel tanks caught fire.

According to Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee, the bridge was damaged by a truck that exploded while making its way across the bridge. The blast caused at least three deaths, RT reported.