Five Russians are among eight suspects detained in connection with the explosion that has gnarled rail and vehicle traffic on the $3.6 billion Crimea bridge, Russia's domestic intelligence service said Wednesday.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency was behind the attack Saturday on the 12-mile bridge, Europe's longest, the FSB said in a statement. Ukraine authorities have lauded the incident but have not formally accepted responsibility for the blast, which Russia says killed three people.
"At the moment, five citizens of Russia, three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, who participated in the preparation of the crime, have been detained as part of a criminal case," the FSB said, adding that several other suspects were involved in the plan.
The FSB said the explosives were shipped out of the Ukrainian city of Odesa in August, and three Ukrainians, two Georgians and an Armenian national were behind the plan to arrange the delivery from Bulgaria through Georgia into Russia.
A Ukrainian citizen and the five detained Russians had prepared documents for a nonexistent Crimean firm to receive the explosives, the agency said. The investigation was continuing.
Other developments:
►NATO defense ministers were meeting Wednesday in Brussels to coordinate plans for providing Ukraine with more weaponry.
►Russian President Vladimir Putin was meeting Wednesday with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of a regional summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said. Erdoğan has offered to host talks between Russia and the West.
No indication Putin is preparing to use nuclear weapons, Pentagon says
The Pentagon has not seen indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to use nuclear weapons as his forces falter in Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday. Austin made his remarks in a briefing to reporters in Brussels, where NATO allies met to discuss supplying military aid to Ukraine.
“Nuclear saber rattling is reckless and irresponsible,” Austin said. “We don’t expect to see and hear that kind of behavior from a major nuclear power. And so that’s very dangerous.”
Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Ukraine’s top needs for the war include air defense systems, cannon artillery, rocket artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Milley blasted the recent Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, calling the “indiscriminate and deliberate attacks” a “war crime.”
-- Tom Vanden Brook
Ukraine receives artillery, air defense systems from US, Germany
The U.S. and its allies are taking quick steps to respond to Ukraine's request for air defense systems that may prevent major damage from missile strikes such as the ones Russia launched Monday and Tuesday.