Yes, during Zapad-2017 and Kavkaz-2016 there were similar allegations that Russia would attack. They happen every year more or less.
The B52 flights were less related with the situation in Ukraine and more to the Russian nuclear posturing over the situation in Belorussia, specifically Russian Tu160 flights but there were other components to it, such as first time a joint exercise between Iskander units and the nuclear weapon handling units was done publicly, with not-so-subtle signalling, as part of reassuring our Belorussian allies who were pushing the narrative of being under a threat of invasion.
Same argument was applied to the bridge. Remember how Russia could never build a bridge into Crimea, with many reasons (ie complex geology) being cited? Yet we did.
Yes, I am aware of it. And guess what, this is not the first time Crimea has issues with availability of basic resources, particularly before the energy bridge was complete there were many electrical outages thanks to some Ukrainian activists who blew the power lines.