Drinking what appeared to be sparkling wine after an awards ceremony for 'Heroes of Russia' at the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin acknowledged targeted attacks by Russia but blamed Ukraine for initiating a trend of attacking civilian infrastructure, pointing to a blast on a key bridge between the Russian mainland and the annexed Crimean peninsula. 
'Yes, we do that,' the Russian president said of the strikes on the Ukraine grid. 'But who started it? There’s a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. This will not interfere with our combat missions'
Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates
Putin vows to keep shelling Ukraine’s power grid at ‘heroes’ drinks reception