Ukraine war: Putin signs decree tightening security on key bridge from Russia to Crimea after explosion | World News

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to tighten security for the bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula with Russia after an explosion caused part of it to collapse.

Damage to the bridge obstructed an important supply route for the Kremlin’s war in the south Ukraine and represents an attack on a symbol of Russian power in the region.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion that killed three people.

Advisor Zelenskyy calls the explosion a ‘beginning’ – latest update

Russian divers will inspect the damage caused to the bridge over the Kerch Strait on Sunday.

The National Anti-Terrorism Commission said a truck bomb had set seven fuel tankers on fire, leading to “half a bridge collapse”.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said a man and woman traveling in a vehicle on the bridge were killed. It did not say who the third victim was.

All vehicles crossing the bridge are tested for state-of-the-art explosives.

The Investigative Committee said the truck that exploded was owned by a resident of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. It said his home had been searched and that experts were investigating the truck’s route.

Russian authorities called the attack an “act of terror” carried out by Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to attack the bridge and some praised the attack, but Kyiv has since stopped claiming responsibility.

The leader of Russia-backed Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said train and vehicle traffic across the bridge had been temporarily suspended, although vehicular traffic resumed Saturday afternoon on one of the two routes that remained open. intact.

Rail traffic slowed again, with two passenger trains leaving the Crimean cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol and heading for the bridge on Saturday night.

Putin has placed Russia’s federal security agency, the FSB, in charge of security for the bridge and energy infrastructure between Crimea and Russia.

Hours after the explosion, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the commander of the air forces, General Sergei Surovikin, would lead Russian troops in Ukraine. He previously led Russian forces in Syria and is accused of overseeing a bombardment that destroyed much of Aleppo.

The 12-mile (19 km) long Kerch Bridge, which straddles the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, is important for maintaining Russian military supply lines in southern Ukraine.

It was Putin who presided over the inauguration of Europe’s longest bridge worth £3.5 billion in 2018.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indirectly acknowledged the bridge attack but did not specify the cause.

“Today is a beautiful and mostly sunny day on the territory of our state,” he said in a video address. “Unfortunately, it’s cloudy in Crimea. Although it’s also warm.”

He said Ukraine wants a future “without occupiers – all over our territory, especially in Crimea”.