Russia Opens Criminal Investigation On Crimea Bridge Explosion

On Saturday, the Russian government opened a criminal investigation into the explosion of a cargo truck that caused a fire and the collapse of two sections of the bridge road linking the Crimean peninsula with the rest of Russian territory.

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Russia's Investigative Committee said it had "launched a criminal investigation in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge."

From the Kremlin they noted that officials of the Investigative Committee are establishing all the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the crime.

The spokesman of the Russian Government indicated to the Russian media and official agencies that President Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a governmental commission to clarify the facts of the incident.

According to the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee, at 06H07 on the road side of the Crimean bridge, there was an explosion of a cargo truck, causing the fire of seven railway tankers on their way to the peninsula, causing the partial collapse of two lanes of the bridge.

After the fire on the bridge was confirmed, the head of the Crimean Assembly, Vladimir Konstantinov, was quick to accuse Ukraine of the events on the bridge linking the peninsula with the rest of Russia.

From Ukraine, the advisor to the head of the Presidential Office stated that the explosion on the Crimean bridge is only the beginning.

Hours after the incident, the Russian Agency for the Sea and Inland Waters restored maritime transit in the vicinity of the bridge and the Kerch Strait.

The Crimean bridge is essential for the transport of people and goods to the peninsula, but also for the provisioning of Russian troops involved in the special military operation in eastern Ukraine.

The bridge, opened in 2018 and promoted by order of President Vladimir Putin, is the symbol of the annexation of the peninsula to Russia in 2014.