Putin: Crimea bridge explosion was ‘terrorist act’ by Ukraine’s secret service

Vladimir Putin on Sunday called the attack on the Crimea bridge a “terrorist act” carried out by the Ukrainian secret service, paving the way for an escalation in the Kremlin’s response.

Putin made his first comments about Saturday’s explosion in an unscheduled 33-second video address late on Sunday night.

“There is no doubt. This is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure,” the Russian president said in the broadcast, published on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. “This was devised, carried out and ordered by the Ukrainian special services.”

Putin is set to discuss how Russia will retaliate in an emergency meeting with his security council on Monday.

He was joined in the video by Alexander Bastrykin, the chairman of the Russian investigative committee who claimed “foreign countries” and Russian citizens were involved in the explosion. “They helped in the preparation of the terrorist attack,” he said.

Amid calls for revenge from Russian hardliners, Moscow on Sunday launched a missile attack on residential buildings in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing 13 people. Video filmed after the pre-dawn attack showed survivors limping from the destroyed building.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said Russia had committed “merciless strikes on civilians”.

Russian officials have said Saturday’s blast on the 12-mile bridge connecting Crimea to Russia was caused by a truck explosion, which killed three people. However some analysts have speculated that a missile strike could have caused it.

Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: