Russian bikers, Crimeans cross 'Putin's bridge' in inaugural drive

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the ceremony. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS

KERCH (Reuters) - Leather-clad bikers with Russian national flags joined motorists driving for the first time across a newly-opened bridge linking Crimea with Russia on Wednesday.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday unveiled the new bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. He chatted to workmen in overalls and drove a heavy, orange truck across the bridge's 19 km (12 miles) length.