Russia’s FSB arrests 8, blames Ukraine for Crimea bridge blast - NBC News

Russia’s home quality work said Wednesday it had arrested 8 radical successful transportation with a blast that damaged a cardinal bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, blaming Ukraine for the incidental that dealt a high-profile blow to President Vladimir Putin. 

The play explosion, which Russian investigators said killed 3 radical and was caused by a motortruck bomb, temporarily halted bid and car postulation implicit the Kerch Bridge — a operation with immense strategical and symbolic worth to the Kremlin.

In a property merchandise Wednesday, the FSB said Ukraine’s subject quality and its chief, Kyrylo Budanov, were down the attack. It besides said 5 Russian citizens, arsenic good arsenic 3 citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, who were progressive successful the cognition had been detained.

NBC News could not verify the claims, which Kyiv instantly dismissed.

According to the Russian quality service, the explosive instrumentality that was utilized to stroke up the span was concealed successful rolls of operation film, and was shipped from Ukraine's Black Sea larboard of Odesa to Bulgaria successful aboriginal August earlier being moved done Georgia and Armenia and into Russia earlier this month. The explosive was detonated arsenic it was being carried successful a motortruck toward Crimea connected Saturday, the FSB said. All the while, Ukrainian agents were successful power of the operation, it added.

A property serviceman for Ukraine's subject quality service, Andrii Yusov, declined to comment, telling NBC News: "We are not commenting connected the statements made by terrorists."

Ukraine's main of defence intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov.Gian Marco Benedetto / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Kyiv has not taken work for the blast, but immoderate high-ranking Ukrainian officials cheered the harm to the bridge, which has served arsenic a cardinal proviso way for Russian forces, arsenic good arsenic a marker of Putin's claims to the portion helium illegally annexed successful 2014.

Ukraine and astir countries don’t admit that annexation and see Crimea portion of Ukrainian territory. Kyiv has vowed to reclaim the peninsula, on with each the territory occupied by Russian forces since the commencement of the full-scale penetration astir 8 months ago.

Putin swiftly labeled the span blast “terrorism” and boasted that the deadly aerial barrage his subject unleashed connected Ukrainian cities this week was an enactment of revenge.