Vladimir Putin has opened a bridge that will serve as Russia's first road link to Crimea, a symbolic victory for him that will also reduce the annexed peninsula's isolation.

This “project of the century” completes what Mr Putin has framed as Russia's historic reunification with Crimea four years after it was seized from Ukraine in the wake of a pro-Western revolution there.

To christen the bridge, which at almost 12 miles is the longest in Europe, Mr Putin got behind the wheel of an orange Kamaz lorry on live television and cruised across to Crimea.

“I congratulate you on this historic holiday,” the president told labourers at the other end. “It's historic because in different epochs, back in the times of our father the tsar, people dreamed about building this bridge. Finally thanks to your talent and work, this project, this wonder, has been completed.”