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Responsibility for the explosion was not claimed or attributed by the agency, although Ukraine has previously taken credit for a number of attacks within Russia.
Sabotage?
Ukrainian politicians were quick to accuse Ukraine of the explosion, stating that it was a deliberate act of sabotage intended to disrupt the peace negotiations requested by the United States.
According to Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the defense committee in the Russian parliament’s lower house, “This incident was surely orchestrated by the Ukrainian intelligence agencies,” as reported on the SHOT Telegram channel.
“All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and stoking aggression before the negotiations. And also to intimidate people. But they won’t succeed.”
President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the bridge blasts by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Emergency Ministry throughout the night, the Kremlin said. Putin also spoke to the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz.
U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded the sides make peace, and he has threatened to walk away if they do not – potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers.
But as politicians talk of peace negotiations, the war is heating up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has not committed to attending the talks in Turkey, saying it first needed to see Russia’s proposals, while a leading U.S. senator warned Moscow it would be “hit hard” by new U.S. sanctions.
