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What did the Kerch Strait bridge opening mean?
Summary
A look back at the opening of the road section of a 19-kilometre bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russia.
What did it mean when Russia opened a bridge across the Kerch Strait? On 15 May 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the road part of the 19-kilometre (12-mile) road-and-rail Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Crimea with Russia.
The opening took place in Crimea, which Russia had annexed. Ukrainian-language reports from the day described the bridge as opened in the annexed peninsula, rather than in a neutral part of Russia's transport network.
The setting
Russia invaded and occupied the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine in February and March 2014, and then annexed it after a referendum that was illegitimate. That came amid the uncertainty that followed Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity. The invasion marked the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The bridge therefore stood as a physical link between Russia and territory it had taken from Ukraine four years earlier. The road section was the part opened on 15 May 2018, while the structure is described as carrying both road and rail links.
The annexation was later described as an instance of modern Russian imperialism. It was the first time since the Second World War that a European country had annexed part of another, and some analysts see it as the beginning of a Second Cold War between Russia and the West.
