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The impact of the explosion on the Crimea Bridge is visible in satellite images. Photo/REUTERS
Moscow, however, never blamed Bulgaria for the attack.
“Colleagues from the Sofia city prosecutor’s office unequivocally determine that Bulgaria has nothing to do with the explosion at the Crimea Bridge. This is another Russian hybrid attack on the European community,” Geshev said in a Twitter post.
The Crimea Bridge, which connects the former Ukrainian peninsula with mainland Russia, was badly damaged on October 8 in a massive explosion that killed three civilians and paralyzed a section of the structure’s roads.
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The incident was widely celebrated in Ukraine, while the country’s postal service even released a special stamp commemorating the hour of the explosion after it happened. However, Kiev has officially denied involvement.
Senior Bulgarian officials have repeatedly denied any connection to the incident, despite the fact that Moscow has never accused Sofia of any involvement.
Days after the explosion, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) gave its report on what happened, accusing Ukraine’s military intelligence service known as the GRU, of being behind the explosion.
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Bulgaria, as well as several other countries, were only mentioned by the FSB as one of the transit points for the deadly cargo.
The cargo was disguised as a roll of plastic construction film that had been shipped from the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa.
The Crimea Bridge attack, along with several other sabotage attacks on Russian soil linked to Ukraine, prompted Moscow to change its approach to its military operations in the neighboring country.
Shortly after the explosion, Russia drastically stepped up attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure, especially energy facilities and military installations.
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