Russia’s FSB arrests 8 people and blames Ukraine for Crimea bridge blast

Russia’s domestic intelligence service said Wednesday it arrested eight people in connection with a blast that damaged a key bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, blaming Ukraine for an incident that dealt a high-profile blow to President Vladimir Putin. 

The weekend explosion, which Russian investigators said killed three people and was caused by a truck bomb, temporarily halted train and car traffic over the Kerch bridge — a structure with huge strategic and symbolic value to the Kremlin.

In a press release Wednesday, the FSB said Ukraine’s military intelligence and its chief, Kyrylo Budanov, were behind the attack. It also said five Russian citizens, as well as three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, who were involved in the operation had been detained.

NBC News could not verify the claims, which Kyiv immediately dismissed.

According to the Russian intelligence service, the explosive device that was used to blow up the bridge was concealed in rolls of construction film, and was shipped from Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa to Bulgaria in early August before being moved through Georgia and Armenia and into Russia earlier this month. The explosive was detonated as it was being carried in a truck toward Crimea on Saturday, the FSB said. All the while, Ukrainian agents were in control of the operation, it added.