Freight traffic across the Kerch Strait Bridge has commenced between Russia and Crimea. A train from Crimea carried goods, and the one from Russia with fuel, grain, fertilizers, and building materials.
On May 15, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the motorway part of the Kerch Strait Bridge. The construction of the bridge affected the freight operations of Ukrainian ports in Mariupol and Berdyansk (both in the Sea of Azov) since not all ships navigating there are able to pass under the bridge.
The 19km-long bridge connects the Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. On December 23, 2019, Putin there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch a rail link across the bridge.