Russian missile strikes on Ukraine energy facilities come as response to Crimean Bridge attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that Russia's missile strikes on targets in Ukraine came as an inevitable response to Kyiv's attacks, which included a strike on the Crimean Bridge, a message posted on the official Kremlin website said.

The Russian Armed Forces have long refrained from precision missile strikes against certain targets on the territory of Ukraine", but later they "became a coercive and inevitable response to Kyiv's provocative attacks against Russia's civilian infrastructure, including the Crimean Bridge and energy facilities."

The conversation with the German Chancellor took place on the initiative of the German side. During the conversation with Olaf Scholz, Vladimir Putin explained Russia's principle approach to how Russia conducts the special military operation in Ukraine.

On October 8, a truck exploded on the Crimean Bridge, causing two automobile sections of the bridge to collapse and setting fire to seven fuel tanks of the passing train. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian special services of the attack on the Crimean Bridge. On November 19, the repairs of all four damaged sections of the road part of the bridge were completed.