THE Vladimir Putin today called for increased security measures at the Crimean bridge, which was badly damaged for the second time by a Ukrainian attack, with the Russian president denouncing a “terrorist act” carried out by Ukraine, vowing that Russia would “respond”. .

“As this is the second terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, I await concrete proposals to improve the security of this important and strategically important transport infrastructure”Putin said at a televised government meeting.

The Russian president said a girl was injured and both her parents were killed in the attack. “The family was traveling to Crimea from the (Russian) Belgorod region,” it said.

“Of course there will be a response from Russia. The Ministry of Defense is preparing the appropriate proposals”, stressed Putin, saying that “What happened is a new act of terrorism by the Kiev regime.”

Speaking at this meeting of national and regional officials to assess the consequences of the attack, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Kushnulin said the bridge would be fully repaired by November 1. He pointed out that the bridge’s pillars were not damaged by the attack, but that a section of the road was completely destroyed and will have to be built from scratch.

He added that road traffic will resume in one direction of the road by September 15, with road traffic in both directions restored by November 1. The railway bridge was not damaged in the attack.

At the end of the meeting, Putin called the attack a brutal and senseless act, as he said the bridge had not been used for months to supply Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

Kiev has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but Ukrainian media reported that Ukrainian intelligence services launched the attack on the Crimean bridge by deploying naval drones.

A source in the Ukrainian special services (SBU) told AFP earlier today that Ukrainian special services and naval forces were behind the attack.