Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly bomb attack on a bridge in western Russia, claiming the incident demonstrated that Kyiv’s leadership had no interest in peace.
Speaking a day ahead of direct peace talks in Turkey, Putin said the attack—which killed seven people and injured 115—was proof that Ukraine’s government could not be trusted to negotiate.
According to Russian investigators, the explosion occurred at 10:33 p.m. local time on Saturday in the Bryansk region, as a passenger train carrying 388 people to Moscow passed beneath a highway bridge.
Russia’s top investigative authority claimed Ukrainian forces were behind the bombing, which involved three explosives. Additional devices were reportedly used in a separate attack on a bridge in neighbouring Kursk and another blast in Bryansk on Sunday.
In some of his most forceful remarks in recent months, Putin alleged the attacks deliberately targeted civilians and labelled Ukraine’s leadership a “terrorist organisation,” accusing its Western supporters of acting as “terrorist accomplices.”
“The current Kyiv regime does not need peace at all,” Putin told senior officials. “What is there to talk about? How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?”
Ukraine has not commented on the bridge attacks. It has consistently denied targeting civilians—an assertion also made by Russia, though both sides have caused civilian casualties during the war.
Kyiv, meanwhile, has accused Moscow of undermining peace efforts by refusing an immediate ceasefire, while Russia insists any ceasefire must be conditional.
Putin’s comments, published by the Kremlin, made no mention of a major Ukrainian operation on Sunday that targeted strategic Russian bomber aircraft at domestic air bases.
The recent spate of attacks, including those on infrastructure and military assets, came just before the Istanbul peace talks, where Russia presented demands described by the US as “maximalist.”
According to Russia’s chief negotiator, Ukraine also presented a list of 339 children it claims were abducted by Russian forces—an issue that remains a point of contention between the two sides.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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