MOSCOW: Russia has detained eight suspects over the deadly explosion on the bridge linking annexed Crimea to Russia, the FSB security service said in a statement quoted by news agencies on Wednesday.
The "terrorist attack" was organised by Ukrainian secret services, the statement said. The explosives were stored in plastic film rolls that left the Ukrainian port of Odessa in August and transited through Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia before entering Russia, it said.
The Kerch bridge, personally inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, is a vital transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
Moscow said a vehicle had exploded and ignited a huge fire, setting ablaze seven oil tankers transported by train and collapsing two car lanes of the giant road and rail structure.
Dramatic social media footage showed the bridge on fire with parts plunging into the sea. Officials in Moscow vowed to find the culprits, but stopped short of immediately blaming Kyiv -- though an official in Russian-installed Crimea pointed the finger at "Ukrainian vandals".
No Ukrainian official has claimed direct responsibility for the blast, which came after Putin celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday. But some cracked jokes at Moscow's expense. The Ukrainian post office announced it was preparing to print stamps showing the "Crimean bridge -- or more precisely, what remains of it".
Boss Igor Smelyansky posted a design for the new stamps on Facebook -- one depicting an explosion on the structure.