MOSCOW : Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to boost Russian morale on Monday by driving a vehicle across a bridge to Crimea that had been damaged by a truck bomb in October.
Putin drove a Mercedes across the bridge that connects Russia's mainland to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Kremlin says he did not try to make a political point by driving a Mercedes and not a Russian-made Auris sedan. Like other Western automakers, Mercedes halted sales of vehicles to Russia after Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
Putin discussed the Crimean Bridge repairs with Marat Khusnullin, the deputy prime minister in charge of the project, while driving, an exchange that was broadcast on Russian television.
The president also met with workers involved in the restoration of the 19-kilometre (12-mile) bridge, which has served as the main conduit for ferrying supplies to Crimea, which has served as a key base for Russian military operations in Ukraine.
In light of Ukrainian threats to reopen the bridge, Putin emphasized the importance of constructing a highway along the Sea of Azov coast to connect Crimea with regions in southern Russia, according to the Kremlin.
The truck bomb attack on October 8 disrupted traffic on one of the bridge's two automobile lanes. Russia blamed the attack on Ukrainian military intelligence and retaliated with a series of strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities and other critical infrastructure.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that widespread strikes on power, telecommunications, and water infrastructure were intended to weaken Ukraine's military capability and derail Western weapon shipments.
On Monday, Ukrainian authorities reported another such barrage, just hours after Russian media reported two explosions at Russian air bases. And took place just as emergency blackouts were due to end. One allegedly occurred at a base that houses nuclear-capable strategic bombers that have participated in strikes in Ukraine.
The strikes, which plunged parts of Ukraine back into freezing darkness with temperatures below zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) were the latest in weeks of attacks hitting critical infrastructure.
At least four people were killed, and most of some 70 missiles were shot down said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "In many regions, there will have to be emergency blackouts," he said in a video address. Moscow has been hitting Ukraine's energy infrastructure roughly weekly since early October. Ukraine says such attacks are aimed at civilians and constitute war crimes.
Russia says Ukrainian drones attacked two air bases at Ryazan and Saratov in south-central Russia, killing three servicemen and wounding four.
Russia's defence ministry said the attacks were acts of terrorism intended to disable long-range aircraft, and the low-flying drones were shot down. If it was behind them, they would be the deepest strikes inside Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb 24.
Missiles also hit energy plants in the regions of Kyiv and Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, Odesa in the south and Sumy in the north. About half of the Kyiv region - which does not include the capital - will be without electricity in the coming days. Video shows two bodies lying next to a damaged car in the village of Novosofiivka.
Ukraine's air force says it downed over 60 of more than 70 missiles fired by Russia on Monday. Russian soldiers were attempting to cut roads to the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region from the west and northwest, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television late on Monday that there were only about 12,000 people left in the town.