INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Vladimir Putin on Monday visited the bridge that links Moscow-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland weeks after the vital link
was hit by a blast, images on state television showed.It was the closest the 70-year-old Russian leader has come to the frontline in
Ukraine, after sending troops to the pro-Western country on Feb
24.Putin drove a Mercedes across the bridge as Russia re-opened it to traffic following an October blast that Moscow blamed on Ukraine.The
Kremlin chief also heard a report from Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin about repair work on the bridge and spoke to construction
workers.After suffering humiliating military defeats on the ground in Ukraine, Russia began targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure in
strikes on Russian infrastructure including the Crimean bridge.
