OREANDA-NEWS In Mariupol, with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin via video link, the restored bridge near Azovstal, which connects the road leading to Crimea, was inaugurated, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

The head of the DPR Denis Pushilin noted the importance and scale of the bridge structure. "Only such a powerful, strong and sovereign country as Russia can, even during a special military operation, even when the fighting is not over, carry out such a large-scale construction. Today we have opened a new very important bridge not only for Mariupol, but also for the whole republic and the whole country, because it is just one of the parts of the land corridor (to Crimea)," Pushilin said. He noted that the capacity of the corridor has increased 3 times - previously it was estimated at 5 thousand vehicles per day, now it is 15 thousand.

"This is a very significant event for the entire Donetsk People's Republic. We are opening a strategic transport infrastructure facility for the region... People were really looking forward to this event, the bridge connects two districts, two parts of the city - the left and right banks. It is the most important site, since it is located on the federal highway connecting the Rostov region with the Crimea through the territory of the DPR," Pushilin said.

According to him, this section is part of the land corridor to the Crimea, where the main flow of transport passes not only urban communication, but also interregional. All work on the bridge was completed in 11 months - two months ahead of schedule, the head of the region noted.