Russia announced that it had completely annexed Crimea.

The bridge connecting Russia with Crimea has just been inaugurated. Photo: RT

RIA NovostiExcerpt from Medvedev's July 30 speech to the Sevastopol city government said that Crimea has completed its annexation with Russia in terms of economy, infrastructure and judiciary.

“We faced a task unprecedented in both scale and difficulty. We had to integrate the legal system, infrastructure and economy of the Crimean peninsula with the whole of Russia. Now we can say that the most difficult period is over and we have begun a more stable and well-planned regime.”

Mr. Medvedev said that after annexing Crimea, Russia has begun rebuilding a series of important projects such as the power grid, water supply system, energy system and transportation network.

“The infrastructure and roads on the peninsula have not been repaired since the Soviet era and are almost completely degraded. Our main goal is to create better living conditions for the people on the peninsula,” Mr. Medvedev said.

On the same day, July 30, the Russian Prime Minister participated in the launching ceremony of Russia's new passenger hydrofoil Kometa-120M in Sevastopol. This ship will start carrying passengers between Sevastopol and Yalta from August 1.

In 2014, Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia. Crimea was in dire straits at the time. Its highways, trains, water, electricity and gas supplies were all dependent on Ukraine, while the West also imposed punitive sanctions.

Despite economic difficulties and a series of sanctions, Russia still shows its determination to renovate and build the peninsula. The proof is that in February 2016, Russia started building the century bridge connecting Crimea and Russian territory across the Kerch Strait. By May 2018, the bridge was opened to traffic half a year earlier than expected, becoming a vital traffic route, stimulating the peninsula's economic and tourism development and helping people's lives become better.