First train from mainland Russia arrives in Crimea

The first passenger train from mainland Russia arrived at the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated a massive railway bridge to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The opening of the 19-kilometre (11.9-mile) bridge, which is the longest in Europe, will allow 14 million passengers and 13 million tons of cargo to move across the bridge each year, Putin said during its opening ceremony.

While the first passenger train from St. Petersburg marks the starting point of train connection between mainland Russia and Crimea, cargo trains won't start rolling across the Crimean bridge until July, according to Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh.

Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 on the grounds that the residents of the peninsula voted to join up with Russia.

The move has been met with widespread international censure, including US and EU sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine has also blocked shipments of supplies via its territory to Crimea, while ferry crossings from Russian Black Sea ports were often interrupted by gales.

Crimean entity within Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has also opened a criminal case in relation to the passenger train crossing Kerch strait, the prosecutor's office informed on Wednesday on its Facebook page.

"Such actions of an occupant-state violate Ukrainian state sovereignty and territorial integrity," said the statement.

Car traffic across a parallel bridge for cars across the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov opened in May 2018.