Russia repairs part of damaged Crimea bridge

STORY: Authorities plan to finish repairs in March. Drivers Reuters spoke to said they were happy with how fast workers rebuild the bridge.

On December 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin drove across the Crimean Bridge linking southern Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula, less than two months since an explosion tore through one of the Kremlin chief's showcase infrastructure projects.

The 12-mile (19 km) road and rail bridge, which was personally opened by Putin in 2018, was bombed on October 8 in an attack Russia said was carried out by Ukraine. Ukraine never claimed responsibility for the explosion that happened a day after Putin's 70th birthday.

Russia's Federal Security Service said the attack was organized by Ukrainian military intelligence.

The explosion wrecked one section of the road bridge, temporarily halting traffic across the Kerch Strait. The blast also destroyed several fuel tankers on a train heading towards the annexed Crimean peninsula from neighbouring southern Russia.