MONITORING DESK
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday paid his single visit to the Crimea bridge that links Russian-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland after the bridge was hit by a blast, pictures on state television showed.
It was the closest Putin has come to the frontline in Ukraine after sending troops to Ukraine on February 24 earlier this year.
The Russian President drove a Mercedes across the bridge as Russia reopened it for traffic after the October blast Moscow blamed on Kyiv.
Crimea bridge attack
Putin also heard a report from Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin about repair work on the bridge and talked with the workers busy with the construction work.
In October, the bridge was partially damaged in an attack blamed on Ukraine by Russia.
On Friday, the Russian President said that Moscow’s attacks were Russia’s “inevitable” response to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian infrastructure, including the Kerch bridge.
