Putin orders enhanced security around Crimean Bridge

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a new order on Saturday demanding the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) enhance security of “the Kerch Strait transport corridor.” This comes after the Crimean Bridge was damaged in a truck explosion early on Saturday.

The Russian Transport Ministry said that traffic had been reopened on the bridge, with one lane available for traffic alternating in both directions. The head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said that truck drivers were advised to use the Kerch ferry crossing. 

The circumstances of the blast, which left three people dead, are being investigated. The incident saw a part of the highway bridge collapse and seven fuel tanks of a train heading towards Crimea through a nearby railway bridge catch fire.

The Russian authorities have not officially named any suspects that could be behind the blast. Ukraine stopped short of claiming responsibility for the incident, although the deadly explosion was celebrated on social media by the country's Security Service (SBU) and Defense Ministry. Kiev’s reaction prompted Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to say that this only demonstrates the “terrorist nature” of the Ukrainian “regime.”