Moscow/Kyiv/Simferopol Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukrainian secret service SBU for the massive explosion on the Crimean bridge. “There is no doubt. This is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critical civilian infrastructure in the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin chief said on Sunday evening. Russia’s National Security Council could discuss a response as early as this Monday. Kyiv has not admitted involvement in the attack.
On Saturday morning, an explosion shook the 19-kilometer bridge that connects Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Around seven and a half months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the strategically and symbolically important project of Putin’s heart was severely damaged. According to official information from Moscow, three people died.
Ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for those responsible to be killed after the massive explosion on the Crimean bridge. “All reports and conclusions are made. Russia’s response to this crime can only be the direct annihilation of the terrorists,” said Medvedev, who is now deputy of the Russian Security Council, in an interview with Kremlin-affiliated journalist Nadana Friedrichson on Sunday evening. “This is what the citizens of Russia are waiting for,” he said before a Security Council meeting this Monday that will be chaired by President Putin.
Russia’s domestic secret service FSB also accused Ukraine of more than 100 attacks on Russian territory – since the beginning of October alone. A total of 32 towns in the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine have been shelled in the past few days, the authorities in Moscow said. The number of attacks has recently increased significantly. This could not be verified independently.
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Zelenskyj: Russia is using terror to prevent negotiations
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated the impossibility of negotiations with Russia. “The constant terror against the civilian population is Russia’s obvious rejection of real negotiations,” said Zelenskyj in his video message on Monday night. Regarding Putin’s allegations, his adviser Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter: “Putin accuses Ukraine of terrorism? That looks too cynical even for Russia.”
Podoljak referred to recent rocket attacks in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, which, according to the latest information, killed more than a dozen people. “No, there is only one terrorist state – and the whole world knows who it is.”
Ukraine also announced that it had recaptured seven towns in the largely Russian-held Luhansk region in the east of its country in the past few days. These included the villages of Novolyubiwka and Grekivka, wrote the Ukrainian head of administration for Luhansk, Serhiy Hajdaj.
USA: Biden’s “Armageddon” warning is not based on new evidence
Meanwhile, the US government said it had no evidence that Putin made a decision to use nuclear weapons. President Joe Biden’s warning of “Armageddon” is not based on new intelligence, said the National Security Council’s Communications Director, John Kirby, on US television.
“What the President was saying was that given what is happening on the battlefield in Ukraine and the very irresponsible and inconsiderate statements made by Vladimir Putin over the past few days, the stakes are high,” Kirby said. In response to threats from Moscow, Biden said the world had not faced the prospect of “Armageddon” since the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
The exact background is still unclear.
(Photo: IMAGO/UPI Photo)
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia has been reconnected to the external power supply, which is important for cooling the fuel rods. The main power line was damaged due to shelling early Saturday morning. After the repair work was completed, the nuclear power plant was reconnected to the power supply on Sunday evening, the IAEA said.
What will be important on Monday
The Kremlin has announced that Putin will meet with the Russian National Security Council this Monday. A reaction to the attack on the Crimean bridge could be discussed there.
In addition, the UN General Assembly will begin deliberations on the recent illegal annexations of parts of Ukraine by Russia in the evening (German time). At the end of the meeting in New York, which could drag on until Wednesday due to the large number of speakers, the largest UN body with 193 member states is to vote on a resolution condemning Moscow.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, meanwhile, will present its Human Rights Prize for the tenth time at 12.30 p.m. This year’s nominees include the Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza and the Ukrainian association “5 AM Coalition”, which is dedicated to solving Russian war crimes.