By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the Defense Ministry is preparing "appropriate proposals" in response to the explosion earlier in the day at the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to the Crimean Peninsula.
"Of course, there will be a response from Russia. The Ministry of Defense is preparing appropriate proposals," Putin said at a meeting with officials on the situation in the area near the Kerch Bridge.
The Russian leader further said he is waiting for officials to submit specific proposals to improve the security of the bridge, which he defined as a "strategic, important transport facility."
Putin urged for reparation work on the damaged section of the bridge, while he also blamed Ukraine for "another terrorist act."
"It is necessary to comprehensively assess the damage caused (to the bridge) and start restoration work as quickly as possible," he said.
He also said that Russia's Federal Security Service, as well as the country's Investigative Committee and numerous other departments, were instructed to look into the incident in detail.
"I have no doubt that all the circumstances will be established," he added.
Earlier on Monday, an explosion at the Kerch Bridge killed two people and injured one, resulting in the halt of traffic, according to Russian officials.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said during a press briefing that Russia's response to the Kerch Bridge blast will be "the achievement of all the goals of the special military operation," claiming Ukraine was behind the blast.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media outlets such as Ukrinform and RBK-Ukraine reported, citing "unknown" sources in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), that the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy were behind the Kerch Bridge explosion.
"Any illegal structures used to deliver Russian instruments of mass murder are necessarily short-lived ... regardless of the reasons for the destruction," Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine's presidential adviser, said separately on Twitter.
The Ukrainian government has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the blast, and independent verification of Russia's claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.