International Desk: Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack on a key bridge linking Crimea to Russia, saying that it was an "act of terrorism" and Ukraine's intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia's civil infrastructure, reports BBC.

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He was speaking at a meeting with the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin.

"There is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying Russia's critical civilian infrastructure. Its authors, perpetrators and beneficiaries are the security services of Ukraine," Mr Putin said.

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According to Mr Bastrykin, investigators have established that the truck which they say blew up travelled through Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia and Krasnodar Territory.

Ukrainian officials have not indicated that their forces were behind the attack. But an adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied Mr Putin's accusation.

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He wrote that there is "only one terrorist state here" and that the "whole world knows who it is". "Does Putin accuse Ukraine of terrorism? It looks too cynical even for Russia,"

Russian authorities partially reopened the roadway part of the bridge hours after the attack but for light traffic only.

The railway part of the bridge - where oil tankers caught fire - has also reopened. The 19km (12-mile) bridge, the longest in Europe, is an important supply route for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

Read more: 3 killed in Crimea bridge blast

Security camera footage released on social media showed a truck - allegedly from the Russian city of Krasnodar, an hour's drive from the crossing - moving west across the bridge at the time of the explosion.

Russian officials said three people were killed in the blast on the bridge. The victims were in a nearby car when a lorry blew up.

Sun News/MR

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