KIEV, December 23. /TASS/. The so-called Ukrainian president’s office in Crimea located in Kherson believes that launching railway traffic on the bridge across the Strait of Kerch is a violation of the national sovereignty of Ukraine, the corresponding statement was published on the office’s official website on Monday.

"The Ukrainian president’s office in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea notes the illegal nature of launching railroad traffic between Russia and the Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by Russia - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol - that took place on December 23, 2019," the statement reads.

The office slammed the launch as a "brazen violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Kremlin’s disregard for universally accepted principles of international law" and condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Crimea.

Moreover, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry lodged a note of protest with Russia for the traffic launch and Putin’s visit. "The Russian side received a corresponding note of protest," the ministry said in a comment. The diplomatic agency rebuked the construction of the bridge without Ukraine’s consent as "an egregious breach of international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea", demanding that Russia "immediately ceased illegal action and any activities" in Crimea.

Earlier on Monday, the Russian leader launched railroad traffic on the bridge across the Kerch Strait by taking a rail bus ride from Kerch to Taman in the company of construction workers.

After the coup d’etat in Ukraine in February 2014, Crimea and Sevastopol held a referendum, in which 96.7% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. Eighty percent of the voting population participated in the referendum. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification deal on March 18, 2014, which the Federation Council (upper house of the Russian parliament) ratified on March 21, 2014. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev refused to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.