happened. a massive explosion on a bridge that dealt a major blow to russia s military supply capabilitying. ukraine has not claimed responsibility for that damage, but an aide to presukraine s president said this may be an act of retaliation. here s a view of the explosion we didn t see yesterday. russian officials say three people were killed in all of this. nick paton walsh joins me now. it looks like russian retaliation. what more can you tell us? reporter: certainly, the strike in zaporizhzhia, we now know the death toll to be 13 with over 80 people injured. hundreds of rescuers are still working at the site of the apartment block that was hit by six cruise missiles dropped by a strategic bomber, and also an su-35 attack jet. also, some anti-aircraft missiles, s-300s according to ukrainian officials involved, a sign that russia s inventory is getting low. is it retaliation? i should point out, zaporizhzhia where this occurred is being hit over the last week repeatedly,
ukrainian officials involved, a sign that russia s inventory is getting low. is it retaliation? i should point out, zaporizhzhia where this occurred is being hit over the last week repeatedly, always it seems indiscriminate, often civilian targets. the death toll not as utterly horrifying as the devastation that hit sunday morning, but we are hearing now from the kremlin head, russian president vladamir putin saying that after talking to the head of his investigative committee, that they believe the ukrainian s secret services with the help of foreign citizens were behind the attack on the kerch bridge, which he refers to as a terrorist attack. the three people killed in that, likely they are civilians. but at the same time, that kerch bridge akcross the strait into crimea is used to supply russian
were 48 hours ago? what do you think? i think russia doesn t feel like it s in the same place. the attack on the bridge was obviously something that was, you know, the it was a big thing for putin when that bridge went into place. he built it, he pushed it, and he drove a truck across it. so there is sort of a personal impact in this. but in terms of it getting us closer to nuclear war with russia, i still think that there s a low likelihood of that happening, because putin understands the ramifications for himself and for his system, for putinism inside of russia. i still think he assesses the advantages he would gain by engaging in a nuclear fashion are gravely outweighed by the disadvantages of doing so. and jack, i see you nodding your head. you agree with that? i agree with steve 100%. this was the case when, at the
materiel so the troops in the south. many calling it a legitimate target but it s also been a tremendous blow to russian prestige. putin is calling a meeting of his security council tomorrow and the emphasis is many are wondering what russia s response to this attack on the strategic bridge will indeed be. ukrainian officials have been reveling in the damage done by that blast, although stopping short of blaming responsibility for it. the question, of course, will be what measures may or may not be announced in this monday security council meeting. a spokesperson when pushed whether or not this might involve them leading into their nuclear doctrine called that inappropriate. so russia losing week after week after week, suffering symbolic and practical damage in attacks on things like this bridge and being asked what its response is going to be.
we will see with the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians we saw in zaporizhzhia. that leaves many in ukraine and around the world on edge because of the backdrop of nuclear threats have become part of russia s rhetoric. jim? that s right. vladamir putin is showing no signs of backing down at this point. nick paton walsh, thank you very much for that report. joining me now, former chief of russia operations for the cia, steve hall and jack parski, a former undercover kgb agent. jack, let me start with you first. this strike on a residential area came hours after russia saw this symbol of its power, a major supply link blown up. do you see a connection here, a retaliation measure on the part of the russians and vladamir putin? what do you think? quite frankly, there s