Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened the country's newly built bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, driving a truck across the span and drawing angry condemnation from Kyiv, the European Union, and the United States.
Putin was shown live on state television at the wheel of a Kamaz truck in a convoy of vehicles that crossed what Russia calls the Crimean Bridge -- a symbol of Moscow's control over the Ukrainian peninsula -- on May 15.
After an excited reporter welcomed "our heroes" as the convoy arrived on the Crimean side, Putin hopped out of the cab in jeans and a jacket and praised builders for the "miracle" he said they had created.
"Throughout various historical epochs...people have dreamed of building this bridge," Putin said, calling it a "historic day."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that "the illegal construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin's disregard for international law."
In a statement posted on Twitter, he said it was "particularly cynical" that the opening took place days before the anniversary of the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1944.
EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini's spokeswoman said construction of the bridge "constitutes another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia."
"The construction of the bridge aims at the further forced integration of the illegally annexed peninsula with Russia and its isolation from Ukraine, of which it remains a part," spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.
The U.S. State Department also condemned Russia's construction of the bridge, saying it was done "without the permission of the government of Ukraine."
"Russia's construction of the bridge serves as a reminder of Russia’s ongoing willingness to flout international law," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
Nauert added that the bridge "represents not only an attempt by Russia to solidify its unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea, but also impedes navigation by limiting the size of ships that can transit the Kerch Strait, the only path to reach Ukraine's territorial waters in the Sea of Azov."
The 19-kilometer bridge over the Kerch Strait had been scheduled to open in December 2018, but Russian authorities recently announced it would open for cars and buses on May 16.
Construction on the bridge from Russia's Krasnodar Krai to Crimea's eastern end started in 2016, two years after Russia seized control of the peninsula following a military occupation and a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries.
The $3.7 billion project includes a four-lane highway and a two-lane railroad, which is still under construction.
PHOTO GALLERY: Putin Officially Opens Massive Bridge Linking Crimea To Russia (CLICK TO VIEW)
Putin Officially Opens Massive Bridge Linking Crimea To Russia
1/20People near the Russian town of Taman look out in July 2016 over the construction of the Kerch bridge, snaking 19 kilometers toward Crimea. A crew of around 5,000 people are working around the clock on the project, which began in May 2015.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
2/20Arkady Rotenberg (center) visits the construction site. The construction magnate won the multibillion-dollar contract to build the bridge in 2015. Rotenberg is a childhood friend of Vladimir Putin and has amassed enormous personal wealth, mostly through construction contracts awarded by the Russian state. He was sanctioned by the European Union and the United States for his role in the Ukraine crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
3/20A photo from July 31, 2017, shows the main archways of the bridge near completion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
4/20The twin 227-meter-long arches are prepared for placement. The arch on the left will support two railway lines, while the other will carry four lanes of automobile traffic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
5/20An engineer watches a scale model of the bridge being towed through a wind tunnel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
6/20The arches straddle this gap in the bridge, designed to allow ships to pass beneath. Critics of the project say the planned 35-meter clearance under the bridge will be dangerously tight during stormy weather. Previous, stalled plans for a bridge across the strait called for clearance of at least 50 meters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
7/20In May 2017, divers tasked with scouring the seabed for explosives that could endanger the bridge discovered a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk downed during World War II. In 1945, a bridge connecting Crimea and the Russian mainland was completed but collapsed after an ice floe crunched into the hastily made structure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
8/20In a shopping mall in central Moscow, an exhibition tells the story of the Kerch bridge's construction. Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea won the country international condemnation but caused a wave of patriotic fervor inside Russia that carried President Vladimir Putin to approval ratings of 83 percent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
9/20A mockup of a section of the bridge is seen in a wind tunnel. The Kerch Strait is a notoriously difficult place to build, with undersea mud volcanoes, seismic activity, and drifting ice floes in winter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
10/20An aerial view by photographer Stanislav Zaburdayevmade with a drone in July 2017.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
11/20An engineer works as waves slap a pontoon. With the stakes high, Russian resources poured into the project. According to a New Yorker report, the building of new automobile roads in Russia was "practically suspended" while the Kerch bridge construction went ahead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
12/20Newlyweds perch on a freshly installed bench overlooking the Crimean end of the bridge.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
13/20Views of the bridge taken in April and May 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
15/20
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
17/20
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
18/20A test of the bridge's lighting
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
19/20A lone vehicle drives down the Crimean Bridge prior to the opening ceremonies on May 15.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
20/20Russian President Vladimir Putin drove a Kamaz truck across the bridge on May 15 to officially open the span.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.
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Putin expressed confidence that the bridge will be open for regular truck traffic in the fall and that the railroad section will open in 2019.
The bridge will give "the economy of Crimea...new momentum" and "raise people's living standards," Putin said. "We will go on working on similar projects throughout the entire country."
Putin has pledged to develop infrastructure and improve living standards substantially in his fourth presidential term, which began on May 7 and ends in 2024, but GDP growth has lagged behind targets and Crimea's economy is struggling.
The televised truck footage was par for the course for Putin, who state TV has shown at the controls of vehicles including a fighter jet, an ultralight aircraft, a minisubmarine, and a faster-moving racing truck in the past.
Crimea is connected to the mainland in Ukraine only, so the newly built bridge is the sole link between the peninsula and Russia.
In the EU statement, Kocijancic said that the bridge "limits the passage of vessels via the Kerch Strait to Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea."
The European Union continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea...by Russia and will not recognize this violation of international law," she said.
Putin's government moved swiftly to seize Crimea in March 2014, after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power by months of street demonstrations and fled to Russia.
Russia sent troops without insignia to Crimea and orchestrated the takeover of government bodies, before holding the referendum on March 16, 2014.
Moscow's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula severely damaged its relations with Kyiv and the West, leading to the imposition of sanctions by the United States, the European Union, and other countries.
Ties were further torn when Russia fomented unrest in Ukraine and backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people in the eastern region known as the Donbas.
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