Putin blames Ukraine for the Crimea bridge blast.

 
INA-source
President Vladimir V. Putin on Sunday accused Ukraine of being behind the attack on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, calling it an act of terrorism.

“There is no doubt that this is a terrorist attack aimed at destroying the critically important civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Mr. Putin said, summing up the attack in just two sentences. “The authors, performers, and customers are the secret services of Ukraine.”

Mr. Putin’s remarks were his first about Saturday’s explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge, which disrupted the most important supply line for Russian troops fighting in southern Ukraine and handed an embarrassing blow to the Kremlin as it faces continued losses on the battlefield and mounting criticism at home. They mirrored statements from Ukrainian officials, who have repeatedly accused Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The comments were made in a meeting with Aleksandr I. Bastrykin, the leader of the Investigative Committee, Russia’s main federal criminal investigative body. A short transcript of the exchange was posted on the Kremlin website and footage of them talking was broadcast on state-run television’s nightly news programs.

 source-nytimes