The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, called it “an act of war” as the country’s investigative committee said on Saturday it had “initiated a criminal case in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge,” adding that “a truck was blown up.”
“According to preliminary information, this morning on the automobile part of the Crimean bridge from the side of the Taman Peninsula, a truck was blown up, which caused seven fuel tanks to ignite on a train heading towards the Crimea peninsula,” the committee said.
“As a result, two lanes partially collapsed.” So far, three people have been found dead as a result of the truck explosion, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
“They are believed to be passengers of a car that was near the truck that exploded.” The bodies of two victims, a man, and a woman, have already been recovered from the water and their identities are being established,” the committee said in a statement.
The investigators have also established the details of the truck and its owner, registered in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, and begun searching his place of residence, it added.
Officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the explosion and had ordered the creation of a government panel to deal with the emergency.
In a decree issued hours after the blast, Putin said the Federal Security Service (FSB) would be responsible for strengthening security for the bridge, as well as the infrastructure supplying electricity and natural gas to the peninsula, according to Interfax news agency.
Officials in Moscow vowed to find the culprits but stopped short of immediately blaming Kyiv—though an official in Russian-installed Crimea pointed the finger at “Ukrainian vandals”.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Russian troops in the south of Ukraine were receiving necessary supplies through the land corridor along the Sea of Azov and by sea. Russia’s Energy Ministry said Crimea has enough fuel for 15 days.
Russia’s transport industry said late Saturday that rail traffic had been cleared to resume on the Kerch bridge.