Vladimir Putin wants to know who to hang if Russia-Crimea road isn’t built
Russia President Vladimir Putin said he wants to identify an official who can be hanged if a road leading to a new bridge that will link Crimea to Russia isn’t built, as he complained that nobody wants to take charge of the project.
“There should be a specific person who can be hanged if it’s not done,” Putin said during a visit to Crimea to view construction work on Friday, the second anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine. Officials keep passing responsibility for the work to colleagues in different ministries, he said.
The president’s comments were figurative, the Kremlin’s press service said later. Putin criticised officials after being informed about troubles building the road linking the bridge with Crimea’s capital, Simferopol. “A specific entity, a specific person responsible for the whole project is needed, so i wouldn’t have to call all government phones or regions,” Putin said after viewing work on the bridge.
The road will lead to a 19km bridge planned to end the peninsula’s isolation. Construction of the span is a “historical mission” for Russia that must be completed by December 18, 2018, Putin said. Linking Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait, it will boost economic growth, he said.
Putin annexed Crimea in March 2014 after the peninsula approved joining Russia in a referendum branded illegal by the U.S. and the European Union, which imposed sanctions. The vote took place after masked, armed men seized the parliament and government buildings in Simferopol following the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Putin at first denied sending troops to Crimea, then later admitted that Russian servicemen had assisted local self-defense units.
The Crimean peninsula is connected to Ukraine and has no land link to Russia. It was conquered by Russian Empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century and became part of Ukraine only in 1954 - a gift of then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.