'Putin's Bridge' edges closer to annexed Crimea despite delays

The construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea is seen from the outskirts of Taman settlement, with rubbish massed up on the shore in the foreground, in Krasnodar region, southern Russia, April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Osborn

KERCH, Crimea (Reuters) - A crumbling nineteenth century fortress perched on the edge of a cape in Russian-annexed Crimea is drawing locals to gaze at what some are calling Putin's Bridge: a nascent super structure that will link the peninsula to Russia.

"Russia is coming towards us," said Sergei Derbenyov, a 22-year-old businessman from the Crimean city of Kerch, peering through binoculars at a cargo ship passing beneath what will be the new bridge's main arch.