The Russian train, owned by the private Grand Service Express railway company, departed from St. Petersburg on December 23 and arrived in Sevastopol on December 25.
It was the first passenger train to use the bridge.
Kyiv, the United States, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s construction of the bridge, calling it a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, with the Western powers imposing sanctions on firms associated with the building of the 19-kilometer long structure.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office said in a statement on December 25 that it had “opened a criminal case in relation to the illegal crossing of Ukraine’s state border by a passenger train.”
Moscow officially opened the bridge to rail traffic on December 23.
The railway section of the bridge marks its expanded use after Russia opened the connection on May 15, 2018, for vehicle usage.
The bridge cost $3.7 billion to build and is Europe’s longest, surpassing the Vasco de Gama bridge in Portugal.