The Russian security services also claimed to have thwarted two attempted attacks near Moscow and Bryansk, attributed to kyiv.
The Russian security services (FSB) said on Wednesday (October 12th) that they had arrested eight people suspected of having participated in the organization of the explosive attack which hit the bridge connecting Crimea to Russian territory on Saturday.
In a statement, the FSB says that five Russians and “three citizens of Ukraine and Armeniawere arrested, without further details on the exact nationality of these last three suspects. “The explosive device was concealed in 22 pallets of plastic film rolls with a total weight of 22,770 kilos“Said the FSB.
“Terrorist attack”
According to this source, the explosives were sent in early August by boat from the port of Odessa, Ukraine, to that of Ruse in Bulgaria. They then transited through the port of Poti, Georgia, then were shipped to Armenia before arriving by road in Russia, again according to the FSB.
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The Russian services claim that the explosive device entered Russia on October 4 in a truck registered in Georgia, before reaching the Russian region of Krasnodar, bordering Crimea, on October 6, two days before the explosion. The FSB claims that this “terrorist attackwas organized by Ukrainian military intelligence, ensuring that an agent from kyiv had coordinated the transit of explosives and had been in contact with the various intermediaries.
On Saturday, a strong explosion severely damaged the Crimean Bridge, which connects this Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow to the rest of Russian territory. However, rail and road traffic then partially resumed on this vital communication route for the Russian army. Russian authorities claim that a truck bomb is the cause of the explosion. In response, Russia carried out massive bombardments across Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday.
Two foiled attacks near Moscow and Bryansk
In addition, the FSB also claimed on Tuesday to have foiled an attempted attack in the Moscow region and another in that of Bryansk, not far from Ukraine, accusing kyiv of having prepared these attacks.
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In two separate statements, quoted by Russian news agencies, the FSB claims to have arrested a Ukrainian suspected of having prepared a rocket launcher attack in the Moscow region, and another Ukrainian citizen accused of having wanted to organize an attack with explosives against a logistics center in Bryansk.
SEE ALSO – The Kremlin accuses the Ukrainians of “terrorism» on the Crimean Bridge