The Crimean Bridge, which was destroyed in October 2022 in the course of the Ukraine war, is passable again.
Russia's government is celebrating the anniversary as a "great gift".
Kerch - A total of 39 days earlier than planned, the Russian bridge to the Crimean peninsula is open to traffic again.
At least partially: the road section has been reopened, but the railway bridge is still being repaired.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin announced the completion of repair work on the online service Telegram.
This means that an important supply line for the Russian army is back in service on the anniversary of the Ukraine war.
Crimean bridge: Russia's supply line for the Ukraine war is passable again
The four-lane, 19-kilometer bridge connects the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea with mainland Russia and is considered an important supply route for the Russian army.
During the fighting in the Ukraine war, it was severely damaged in an explosion on October 8, 2022.
After the explosions, the destroyed section of the bridge fell into the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.
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The Crimean Bridge is now passable again after its destruction in October 2022
© IMAGO/Konstantin Mihalchevskiy
Moscow had accused Kiev of destroying Russia's strategic infrastructure and holding it responsible for the truck attack.
Putin described the explosion as a "terrorist attack".
Ukraine denied this.
Crimean bridge destroyed in Ukraine war repaired for anniversary: "Great gift"
500 workers have now been working around the clock for four and a half months since October and the construction work was completed 39 days earlier than planned "as a great gift" for Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day, explained Deputy Prime Minister Chusnullin.
The railway bridge is still being worked on.
It will probably not be put into operation before the summer.
The bridge over the Kerch Strait is an important supply route for Russia to provide soldiers fighting in Ukraine with military equipment.
It also has a high symbolic value for Moscow: Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin personally inaugurated it in May 2018, it is considered a prestige object of Putin after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
List of rubrics: © IMAGO/Konstantin Mihalchevskiy