Russia’s Investigative Committee chief, Aleksandr Bastrykin, on Wednesday stated that explosives used in the deadly attack on two railway bridges in southern Russia over the weekend were foreign-made.
One of the blasts killed seven civilians, and was reportedly orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services. Bastrykin spoke at a briefing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and top officials, where he said the attacks were "beyond any doubt" arranged by Ukrainian intelligence, and possibly with foreign help.
The "evidence collected by the investigators directly points to [the fact] that all three terrorist attacks [in Bryansk and Kursk regions] were beyond any doubt arranged by Ukrainian special services," Russia's RT translates.
Bastrykin further described amid an ongoing investigation the following, per state media:
Bastrykin reported that between May 20 and May 25, Russian security services were conducting an operation in Bryansk Region against a group of Ukrainian saboteurs. He revealed that during the raid, the authorities uncovered a cache containing 13kg of similar plastic explosives and Ukrainian-made remote detonators.
The official estimated the material damage caused by the explosions at over 1 billion rubles ($13mn).
Railway authorities said of the Bryansk incident that "illegal interference" was the cause, with regional governor Alexander Bogomaz saying a bridge had been "blown up".
CNN had additionally detailed that "The bridge came down in the region’s Vygonichi district, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border, crushing the moving train and injuring at least 66 people, including three children, Russian authorities reported."
Russian state media has further given 'sabotage' as the reason for the train derailments:
Videos circulating in Telegram show a crushed train carriage with passengers being evacuated through shattered windows, and emergency services responding at the scene. The collapse also reportedly affected vehicles on the bridge, which fell onto the railway below.
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) reported that fire and rescue units are actively working at the site of the bridge collapse. “All necessary assistance is being provided to the victims. Additional MChS forces, emergency rescue equipment, and lighting towers for nighttime operations have been deployed to the area,” the ministry noted in an official statement.
Russian media sources published videos of bystanders of the scene of a major train derailment, showing a chaotic scene of confusion and overturned rail cars.
The timing of the railway bridge attacks appeared coordinated with the large drone swarm attacks from Ukraine on Sunday, dubbed 'Operation Spider's Web'. Ukrainian officials have previously stated their goal is to create chaos and instability within Russia through covert sabotage ops, hoping that it would undermine society and ultimately destabilize the government and President Putin’s rule. Moscow has warned that full retaliation is coming, but it is clearly taking its time in terms of planning reprisal strikes.