Russia accuses Ukraine of being behind two bridge collapses that caused major casualties

Two bridge collapses in Russia occurred on the evening of May 31 and the morning of June 1, killing a total of 7 people and injuring 113.

In the first incident, a bridge collapsed on a train carrying 388 passengers in the Bryansk region. On the morning of June 1, a railway bridge collapsed in the Kursk region, causing a freight train to derail, injuring the train driver and two others.

According to RT, the Russian Investigative Committee said on June 3 that the collapse of two bridges that caused train derailments in Bryansk and Kursk was an attack planned by Ukraine to cause maximum civilian casualties.

Scene of the bridge collapse in Russia. Photo: Sputnik.

In a statement on June 3, the Russian Investigative Committee said Moscow considered the two acts of sabotage to be "terrorist attacks."

"It is clear that the attackers acted on instructions from the Ukrainian authorities, planning the attack with maximum precision to ensure that hundreds of civilians would be affected," a spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee said, adding that investigators had recovered fragments of explosive devices and other physical evidence from the scene, as well as taken statements from witnesses, injured passengers and railway workers.

Two bridge collapses occurred just before the second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine. Photo: Tass.

Earlier, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that investigators believe the saboteurs may have used a US-made C-4 explosive device. They reportedly came to this conclusion after recovering an unexploded 10kg bomb.

The two bridge collapses occurred just before the second round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul (Turkey) on June 2 and in the context of Kiev's sharp increase in drone attacks on Russia - an action that Moscow said was aimed at sabotaging the peace process.

>>> Readers are invited to watch a video about the bridge collapsing onto a passenger train in Russia on the evening of May 31.