Five Russians are among eight suspects detained in connection with the explosion that has disrupted rail and vehicle traffic on the $3.6 billion Crimean bridge, Russia’s national intelligence service said on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency was behind Saturday’s attack on the 12-mile bridge, Europe’s longest, the FSB said in a statement. Ukrainian authorities have praised 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 crime. crime. plan.
The FSB said the explosives were shipped from the Ukrainian city of Odessa in August, and that three Ukrainians, two Georgians and an Armenian citizen were behind the plan to arrange delivery from Bulgaria to Russia via Georgia.
A Ukrainian citizen and the five detained Russians had prepared documents for a non-existent company in Crimea to receive the explosives, the agency said. The investigation continued.
Other developments:
►NATO Defense Ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to coordinate plans to equip Ukraine with more weapons.
►Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of a regional summit on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said. Erdoğan has offered to host talks between Russia and the West.
No signs Putin is preparing to use nuclear weapons, Pentagon says
The Pentagon has seen no signs 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 at a news conference in Brussels, where NATO allies are meeting to discuss providing 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 that is very dangerous”.
Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Ukraine’s main war needs include air defense systems, cannon artillery, rocket artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Milley criticized recent Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, calling the “indiscriminate and deliberate attacks” a “war crime.”
–Tom Vanden Brook
Ukraine receives artillery and air defense systems from the US and Germany
The United States and its allies are moving quickly to respond to Ukraine’s request for air defense systems that can prevent major damage from missile strikes like those launched by Russia on Monday and Tuesday.
Ukraine has received its first IRIS-T air defense system from Germany and four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the US, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Wednesday. Deliveries accelerated after this week’s Russian bombardment of much of Ukraine, a retaliatory truck bombing attack that damaged a crucial Russian-built bridge in Crimea on Saturday.
The United States also announced plans to send eight National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to Ukraine; two are expected to be delivered soon. In addition, the Netherlands said it would deliver $14.5 million worth of air defense missiles, and France said it would also contribute to Ukraine’s air defense.
“A new era of air defense has begun,” Reznikov tweeted. “There is a moral imperative to protect the sky to save our people.”
Bombings cause a dangerous blackout at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
For the second time in five days, Europe’s second-largest nuclear power plant was taken offline by bombing, again risking a radiation emergency.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost its power supply on Wednesday when a Russian missile damaged a substation to the north, the facility’s operator said. While the plant’s six reactors are idle, they need to be cooled for extended periods to prevent overheating.
Energoatom said that the external power supply was repaired after about eight hours and that the plant’s emergency diesel generators, which depend on uncertain fuel deliveries in the war zone, provided backup power in the meantime, but noted that an equally dangerous outage could happen at any time.
Experts have warned of the danger of continued fighting near the plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war but is operated by Ukrainian employees. Repeated power outages for short periods only increase the risks, analysts say.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly called for the establishment of a protection zone around the facility (IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi made his case directly to Putin on Tuesday), but so far hostilities on the outskirts of the plant have not ceased.
Biden: No progress in effort to free Brittney Griner from Russian prison
US authorities have made no progress in freeing WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner from a Moscow prison, President Joe Biden said Wednesday. Asked by reporters if there was any movement on the Griner case, Biden replied: “Not with Putin.”
Griner, who plays basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was arrested at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow in February on drug charges. Griner admitted to having vape cans containing cannabis oil in her luggage, but she testified that she had packed them without her knowledge and that she had no criminal intent. She was sentenced to nine years in prison; her appeal hearing is scheduled for October 25.
– Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
Putin Blames US for Pipeline Explosions, Says Russia Ready to Resume Gas Flow
Putin said on Wednesday that Russia is ready to restart the flow of gas to Europe through the only remaining link of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, again blaming the United States for the explosions that crippled the system. German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann rejected the proposal, saying Russia has been an unreliable gas supplier since the war began.
European authorities are investigating the explosions that leveled both links of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one of the two links of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. US officials have rejected Putin’s claim that the US wanted to cut off the flow to encourage Europe to import more expensive liquefied natural gas.
Experts discuss Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
What does Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons mean for the security of millions of people in Ukraine and around the world, including the United States, whom Russian nuclear-tipped missiles can certainly reach?
– Josh Meyer, USA TODAY
Kremlin criticizes plan to rebuild Ukraine with frozen Russian assets
A proposal by major industrialized nations to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction has drawn strong criticism from Moscow.
“It is pure international organized crime,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
The G-7 statement released after Tuesday’s virtual meeting called for “ensuring Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, including exploring ways to do so with funds from Russia.” After the invasion began in February, the West imposed sanctions against the Bank of Russia. In addition to freezing Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, all transactions related to the Bank of Russia’s reserve and asset management, as well as transactions with any legal entities, came under the ban.
