Putin drives truck to open new Crimea bridge

World
Europe

01:21

‍Russian President Vladimir Putin posed as a truck driver on Tuesday as he inaugurated a new bridge between Russia and Crimea, in a move that further confirms the peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014 is now Russian territory.

Putin, dressed in jeans and a casual jacket, was shown by Russian state television behind the wheel of an orange construction truck, driving in a convoy across the bridge, which spans a strait between the Black and Azov seas and will connect Russia’s southern Krasnodar region with the Crimean city of Kerch.

"At last, thanks to your talent, this project, this miracle, has happened," Putin told cheering workers who met him on the Crimean side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) greets builders before a ceremony opening a new bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, May 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

The 19km (12 mile) road-and-rail bridge, built at a cost of 223 billion rubles (3.60 billion US dollars), is the longest dual-purpose span in Europe.

It will be opened to cars on Wednesday while the rail section is due to be completed at the end of 2019.

The link, however, drew criticism on Tuesday from Ukraine and the European Union.

"The illegal construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin's disregard for international law,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, drawing sanctions and prompting a deterioration in ties with the West.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Tuesday said in a statement that the "bridge serves as a reminder of Russia’s ongoing willingness to flout international law" and added it was an attempt by Russia "to solidify its unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea" and impede navigation of the Kerch Strait.

The EU described the link as "another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"The European Union continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia and will not recognize this violation of international law," a spokesperson of the European External Action Service said.

The four-lane road bridge was completed ahead of time at Putin's request. Once it opens for traffic on Wednesday, it will be able to carry up to 40,000 cars per day.

Crimea has been hard to reach from southern Russia with long queues of vehicles to board ferries, which cannot always run in winter storms.

Because of blocks imposed by Kiev, in addition to Western sanctions, a large amount of food is currently shipped to the peninsula from Russia, so the bridge will play an important role in reducing the region's reliance on sea transport.

Ukraine has however complained that larger ships will now be unable to get through to its ports on the Azov Sea.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters