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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Jane Dalton and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukraine news – live: Blasts rock Kharkiv as Zelensky says Russia preparing society for nuclear weapons use

REUTERS
Fire blazes on only bridge connecting Crimea to Russia after explosion

The Ukrainian president’s top aide has warned this morning’s explosion on the Crimea bridge is “just the beginning”.

Posting a photo of the bridge engulfed by towering plumes of smoke and flames, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted: “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled:”

Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the explosion was caused by a truck bomb and had caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in a “partial collapse of two sections of the bridge.”

Though Kyiv has not claimed responsiblity for the explosion- nor has the Kremlin officially apportioned blame- David Arakhamia, the leader of Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, said the explosion was a consequence of Moscow’s takeover of Crimea and Russia’s “illegal” empire.

He wrote on Telegram: “Russian illegal construction is starting to fall apart and catch fire. The reason is simple: if you build something explosive, then sooner or later it will explode,”

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