Crimea bridge blast: Russian Presi. Putin accuses Ukraine, calls it terrorism

A blast occurred on Saturday on the bridge over the Kerch Strait in Crimea, which is a major supply route for Moscow's forces in southern Ukraine.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of orchestrating that attack and called it an act of terrorism.

Key quotes

"There is no doubt. This is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure,"

"This was devised, carried out and ordered by the Ukrainian special services."

Putin is scheduled to hold a meeting of his security council on Monday.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said, "Russia can only respond to this crime by directly killing terrorists, as is the custom elsewhere in the world. This is what Russian citizens expect.”

Market reaction

The market’s risk perception remains negative at the start of the week, with Chinese traders returning and digesting the country’s Services sector contraction. Investors also trading with cautioin amid aggressive Fed rate hike bets and pre-US inflation anxiety. The S&P 500 futures are down 0.32% on the day while the US dollar index is losing 0.10% so far, trading at 112.70, as of writing.