CE73-RU2F RUSSIA 2018 Block INAUGURATION OF THE KERCH BRIDGE - CRIMEA ANNEXATION

May 15, 2018 - Vladimir Putin inaugurates the largest bridge of Europe, linking annexed Crimea to Russia

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------

This new bridge connects the Taman Peninsula, in southern Russia, to the Ukrainian peninsula of Kerch, in Crimea, annexed by Moscow in March 2014. The Russian President thus inaugurated the 19 kilometer work of art – the longest in Europe – of high strategic value for Moscow. The “Kertch Bridge” or “Crimean Bridge” came out of the water in a time record – just over three years – for meet both practical and geopolitical needs.

The European Union saw it at the time as "a new violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine by Russia". For the United States, this construction came "recall Russia's persistent desire to flout international law".