Vladimir Putin donned his £2,600 Lora Piana coat as he drove a Mercedes across the partially destroyed bridge across Crimea and inspected repair work in progress.
The Kerch Bridge – the one on the left Russia to annexed Crimea – was bombed in October in a surprise attack, believed to have been carried out by Ukraine as a way of cutting off Russian supply lines to the peninsula.
On the same day, footage of the Russian president’s excursion was released a nuclear bomber airbase was hit in the Saratov region damaging two Tu-95 aircraft, while another air base in Ryazan was also hit by a suspected drone strike.
Analysts have said Putin, 70, is increasingly losing control of his invasion of Ukraine, which he hoped would be over in days, if not weeks. But as it entered its tenth month, its forces were pushed back and Ukraine grew more confident and bold in its attacks.
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Vladimir Putin (pictured third from left) donned his £2,600 Lora Piana coat as he drove across the partially destroyed bridge across Crimea, inspecting repair work in progress
Pictured: Putin drives a Mercedes across the Kerch Bridge in footage released by the Kremlin as he inspects damage caused in an October attack and subsequent repairs
The 20-kilometer road and rail bridge, personally opened by Putin in 2018, was bombed on October 8 in an attack Russia says was carried out by Ukraine.
Putin, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, was shown on state television behind the wheel of a Mercedes asking questions about where the attack took place and discussing the condition of the bridge.
He was then pictured wearing his £2,600 Lora Piana coat as he walked down the bridge. He was wearing the same coat before at a concert on March 18 on the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, with commentators noting the price as Russian wages fell due to sanctions.
“We drive on the right,” Putin said as he crossed the bridge. “The left side of the bridge, as far as I understand it, is in working order, but still needs to be completed. It has suffered a little bit, we have to bring it to an ideal state.’
Putin also walked along parts of the bridge, the largest in Europe, to inspect parts that are still visibly scorched. He spoke to construction workers who have repaired the road and railway crossing and are working around the clock, the Kremlin said.
Pictured: Putin (center) listening to Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin as he visits a bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula, Dec. 5
Pictured: Putin inspects the Kerch Bridge on December 5, wearing his £2,600 Lora Piana coat
The 20-kilometer road and rail bridge, personally opened by Putin in 2018, was bombed on October 8 in an attack Russia said was carried out by Ukraine (pictured)
In the photo: Repair work is being carried out on the Kerch Bridge on November 19
But the visit to the bridge did not have the desired effect on all the Russians who saw it. Some mocked Putin for choosing a Mercedes instead of a Russian-made car.
One comment read: “A Mercedes – so patriotic, Putin.” Another said, “Why isn’t he driving a Lada or Volga?”
The Crimean bridge was badly damaged in the October bombings and Putin has been warned that the Ukrainians could try to destroy it beyond repair.
The range of the two drone strikes today – deep within Russian territory – indicates they are capable of more ambitious strikes.
Shutting down the bridge for six months could make it harder for Putin to cling to Crimea, which he annexed in 2014, he has been warned.
Putin can be heard on footage of his visit to the bridge saying further repairs are needed on the left side of the bridge.
About 1,214 tons of metal structures were erected to repair the bridge, with 500 workers, including divers, deployed 24 hours a day.
Putin was pictured wearing his £2,600 Lora Piana coat as he walked down the bridge. He previously wore the same coat at a concert on March 18 to mark the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, capturing the peninsula from Ukraine (pictured, March 18)
Ukraine never claimed responsibility for the bombing of the bridge on the morning of October 8, a day after Putin’s 70th birthday. Russia’s Federal Security Service said the attack was organized by Ukrainian military intelligence.
The explosion destroyed part of the road bridge, temporarily halting traffic across the Kerch Strait. The blast also destroyed several fuel tankers on a train bound for the annexed Crimean peninsula from neighboring southern Russia.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, which was transferred from Soviet Russia to Soviet Ukraine by then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 and recognized by Russia in 1994 after the collapse of the USSR.
Ukraine has vowed to return Crimea, which depends on the bridge for supplies.
Putin’s ally Arkady Rotenberg’s company built the massive structure, the longest bridge in Europe. Putin has long praised the project, at one point boasting that Russian tsars and Soviet leaders had dreamed of building it but never did.
Putin’s visit to the Kerch Bridge came after a Russian air base – against which a major attack was being prepared Ukraine – was hit this morning by a suspected drone strike that damaged two long-range bombers.
An explosion hit the Engels-2 airbase near the Russian city of Saratov this morning, damaging two long-range bombers
The Engels-2 airbase, near the city of Saratov, was hit by an explosion in the early hours of Monday that damaged two Tu-95 bombers used to launch airstrikes against Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Another explosion hit a Russian military base near the town of Ryazan, killing three and injuring five after a fuel truck detonated.
Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the blasts, but is widely believed to be responsible for dozens of similar attacks on bases and supply depots on Russia’s western border.
Engels-2 and Ryazan are located between 500 and 700 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, beyond the range of Kiev’s missiles, meaning the attack was likely carried out by a drone.
Hours before the blast, Ukrainian arms firm Ukrobonoprom claimed to have successfully tested a suicide drone with a 165-pound warhead that could hit either site.
The explosions come after satellite images from last week showed bombers at Engels Air Base being prepared for an attack on Ukraine.
Photos showed Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft being refueled and armed with cruise missiles as analysts warned of a “large-scale” attack on Ukraine and its fragile energy networks likely “imminent.”
It comes just days after one inferno broke out at an oil depot in the Russian border area of Bryansk in an attack believed to have been orchestrated by Kiev. A comparable oil depot fire spoke out in November in the settlement of Stalnoi Kon’.