Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Amid Western Condemnation, Putin Opens Crimea Bridge to Rail Traffic RFE/RL Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday took part in a ceremony officially opening a controversial bridge from mainland Russia to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula to rail traffic. Kyiv, the United States, and European Union have condemned Russia's construction of the bridge, calling it a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, with the Western powers imposing sanctions on firms associated with the building of the 19-kilometer long structure. Flanked by local government officials, Putin thanked the workers for their efforts to build "this huge project," in a ceremony broadcast live on state-run Russian TV. In November, the privately owned Grand Service Express railway company announced that the first train would depart from St. Petersburg for Sevastopol on December 23 and would travel 2,741 kilometers in 43.5 hours. The segment from Moscow to Simferopol-- the peninsula's capital city-- is scheduled to depart on December 24 and travel 2,009 kilometers in 33 hours. The bridge cost $3.7 billion to build and is Europe's longest, surpassing the Vasco de Gama bridge in Portugal. The railway section of the bridge marks its expanded use after Putin opened the connection on May 15, 2018, for vehicle usage. On that day, Putin was shown live on state television at the wheel of a Kamaz truck in a convoy of vehicles that crossed what Russia calls the Crimean Bridge-- a symbol of Moscow's control over the Ukrainian peninsula. Russia's Federal Road Transport Agency, also known as Rosavtodor, said on December 22 that Putin would take part in the ceremonies on December 23. Crimea is connected to the mainland in Ukraine only, so the bridge is the sole link between the peninsula and Russia.