Russian authorities arrested eight people after in Crimea

• Russia’s Federal Security Service says Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense organized “terrorist attack”.
• Blast damaged only bridge connecting annexed Crimea with Russian mainland.
• FSB: Explosive device was concealed in rolls with polyethylene construction film.

Eight people have been arrested in connection with Saturday’s bridge blast. Explosions that damaged the only bridge connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland. Marking a critical juncture in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed Wednesday that the main intelligence department of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, its head Kyrylo Budanov, and its employees and agents organised the “terrorist attack” on the Kerch Strait road-and-rail bridge.

“At the moment, five Russian citizens, three Ukrainian citizens, and one Armenian citizen who participated in the preparation of the crime have been detained as part of a criminal case,” the FSB and the Russian Investigative Committee reported, according to RIA Novosti.

“The explosive device was concealed in rolls of polyethylene construction film on 22 pallets weighing a total of 22,770 kilogrammes,” according to the FSB report, as reported by RIA Novosti.

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The weekend bridge explosion in Crimea dealt a major blow to what the Kremlin refers to as its “special military campaign” in Ukraine, as Moscow combats low morale among Russian troops and dwindling military supplies.

The bridge is strategically significant because it connects Russia’s Krasnador region to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that was widely condemned by the international community.

It is a vital artery for supplying Crimea with both daily necessities and military supplies. Hundreds of Russian military convoys carrying vehicles, armour, and fuel have used the bridge in recent months.

Following the blast, limited car and rail traffic has resumed on the bridge. Larger vehicles, such as heavy trucks, vans, and buses, travel by ferry.