In February and March 2014,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

invaded the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

, part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and then

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

it. This took place in the relative

power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has replac ...

immediately following the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

. It marked the beginning of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. The

events in Kyiv Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

that ousted Ukrainian president

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

on 22 February 2014 sparked both pro-Russian and anti-separatism demonstrations in Crimea. At the same time, Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

told his security chiefs to begin work on "returning Crimea to Russia". On 27 February, Russian special forces without insignia seized strategic sites across Crimea. Russia at first denied involvement, but Putin later admitted that they were Russian troops.
As the armed men occupied Crimea's parliament, it dismissed the Crimean government, installed the pro-Russian Aksyonov government, and announced a referendum on Crimea's status. The referendum was held under Russian occupation and, according to the Russian-installed authorities, the result was overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia. The next day, 17 March 2014, Crimea's authorities declared independence and requested to join Russia. Russia formally incorporated Crimea on 18 March 2014 as the

Republic of Crimea Crimea, or the Crimean Peninsula, historically also known as the ''Tauric Chersonese'' (Tauric Peninsula, Tauric, Taurica, or Tauris), is a major peninsula in the north of the Black Sea. Crimea may also refer to: Places Crimean Peninsula Republic ...

and

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several national capitals. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''), ma ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. Following the annexation, Russia militarized the peninsula and warned against any outside intervention. Ukraine and many other countries condemned the annexation and consider it to be a violation of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and Russian agreements safeguarding the

territorial integrity Territorial integrity is the principle under international law where sovereign states have a right to defend their borders and all territory in them from another state. It is enshrined in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and has been recognized as c ...

of Ukraine. The annexation led to the other members of the G8 suspending Russia from the group and introducing sanctions. The

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

also rejected the referendum and annexation, adopting a resolution affirming the "territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders", and referring to the Russian action as a "temporary occupation". The Russian government opposes the "annexation" label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of the

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

of peoples.

Other names

In Ukraine

The names of the Crimean annexation vary. In Ukraine, the annexation is known as the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia (), the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the fall of Crimea, and the invasion of Crimea.

In Russia

In the Russian Federation, it is also known as the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation (), the return of Crimea (), and the reunification of Crimea.

Background

Crimea was part of the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

from 1441 until it was

by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1783 by a decree of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. After the downfall of

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

during the first stages of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

there were a series of short-lived independent governments (

Crimean People's Republic The Crimean People's Republic ( Crimean Tatar: ; ; ) or Crimean Democratic Republic was a self-declared state that existed from December 1917 to January 1918 in the Crimean Peninsula. The Republic was one of many short-lived states that declare ...

Crimean Regional Government The Crimean Regional Government ( ') refers to two successive short-lived regimes in the Crimean Peninsula during 1918 and 1919. History Following Russia's 1917 October Revolution, an ethnic Tatar government proclaimed the Crimean People's Rep ...

, Crimean SSR). They were followed by White Russian governments (

General Command of the Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Army ...

and later

South Russian Government The South Russian Government ( ''Хронос: Историческая Энциклопедия''. ("South Russian Government". ''Chronos: Historical Encyclopedia''.) Retrieved 20 April 2011.) was a Russian White movement government establishe ...

). In October 1921, the Bolshevik

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

gained control of the peninsula and instituted the

Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Several different governments controlled the Crimean Peninsula during the period of the Soviet Union, from the 1920s to 1991. The government of Crimea from 1921 to 1936 was the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic, which was an Autonomo ...

as a member of Russian Federation. In the following year Crimea joined the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as a part of Russia (the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

). After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the 1944 deportation of all of the indigenous Crimean Tatars by the Soviet government, the

Crimean ASSR Several different governments controlled the Crimean Peninsula during the period of the Soviet Union, from the 1920s to 1991. The government of Crimea from 1921 to 1936 was the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic, which was an Autonomo ...

was stripped of its autonomy in 1946 and downgraded to the

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ** Status c ...

of an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

of the Russian SFSR. In 1954, the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the

to the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

by decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

of the

to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's union with Russia. In 1989, under

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Commu ...

perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

, the Supreme Soviet declared that the deportation of the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

under

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

had been illegal and the mostly

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

ethnic group was allowed to return to Crimea. In 1990, the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

of the Crimean Oblast proposed the restoration of the Crimean ASSR. The oblast conducted a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the

New Union Treaty The New Union Treaty () was a draft treaty that would have replaced the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to salvage and reform the USSR. A ceremony of the Russian SFSR signing the treaty was scheduled ...

(that is, become a

union republic In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a constituent federated political entity with a system of government called a Soviet republic, which was officially defined in the 1977 constitution as "a ...

on its own). By that time, though, the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

was well underway. The Crimean ASSR was restored for less than a year as part of Ukrainian SSR before the restoration of

Ukrainian independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publi ...

. Newly independent Ukraine maintained Crimea's autonomous status, while the

Supreme Council of Crimea Verkhovna Rada of Crimea or the Supreme Council of Crimea, officially the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, was the Ukrainian legislative body for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea before the annexation of Crimea by Russi ...

affirmed the peninsula's "sovereignty" as a part of Ukraine. The confrontation between the government of Ukraine and Crimea deteriorated between 1992 and 1995. In May 1992 the regional parliament declared an independent "Crimean republic." In June 1992, the parties reached a compromise, that Crimea would have considerable autonomy but remain part of Ukraine. Yuri Meshkov, a leader of the Russian movement was elected President of Crimea in 1994 and his party won a majority in the regional parliamentary elections in the same year. The pro-Russian movement was then weakened by internal disagreements and in March 1995 the Ukrainian government gained the upper hand. The office of the elected President of Crimea was abolished and a loyal head of region was installed instead of Meshkov; the 1992 constitution and a number of local laws were repealed. According to Gwendolyn Sasse the conflict was defused due to Crimea's multi-ethnic population, fractures within the pro-Russian movement, Kyiv's policy of avoiding escalation and the lack of active support from Russia. During the 1990s, the serious dispute over control of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

and Crimean naval facilities, as well as the status of Crimea in whole were source of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. In 1992,

Vladimir Lukin Vladimir Petrovich Lukin, sometimes (rarely and erroneously) Lokin, (; born 13 July 1937) is a Russian politician who served as Human Rights Commissioner of Russia from February 2004 to March 2014. He was the President of the Russian Paralympic ...

, then chairman of the

Russian Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. The Duma headquarters are located in central Mos ...

's Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested that in order to pressure Ukraine to give up its claim to the Black Sea Fleet, Russia should question Ukrainian control over Crimea. In 1998 the Partition Treaty divided the fleet and gave Russia a naval base in Sevastopol, and the Treaty of Friendship recognized the inviolability of existing borders. However, in

2003 Tuzla Island conflict A dispute over Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait arose between Russia and Ukraine in 2003, sparked by unannounced Russian construction of a causeway from their side of the strait toward the island, which is Ukrainian territory. Russians offered v ...

issues over maritime border resurfaced. In September 2008, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko accused Russia of giving

Russian passport The Russian passport () is a biometric travel document issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Russian citizens for international travel. This external Russian passport is distinct from the internal Russian passport, which is a mandato ...

s to the population in Crimea, and described it as a "real problem", given Russia's declared policy of military intervention abroad to protect Russian citizens. On 24 August 2009,

anti-Ukrainian Anti-Ukrainian sentiment (), Ukrainophobia () or anti-Ukrainianism () is animosity towards Ukrainians, Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainian language, Ukraine as a nation, or all of the above.Andriy Okara. Ukrainophobia is a gnostic problem.n18texts O ...

demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents.

Sergei Tsekov Sergei Pavlovich Tsekov (, ; born 28 September 1953 in Simferopol) is a Russian and former Ukrainian politician, who serves as the Russian Federation Senator from Crimea since 2014. A longtime pro-Russian activist, he voted against the ratifica ...

(of the Russian Bloc and then deputy speaker of the Crimean parliament) said then that he hoped that Russia would treat Crimea the same way as it had treated

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

. Crimea is populated by an

ethnic Russian The Russian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking (''Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russians or not. History ...

majority and a minority of both ethnic

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and Crimean Tatars, and thus demographically possessed one of Ukraine's largest ethnically Russian populations. As early as in 2010, some analysts already speculated that the Russian government had

irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...

plans.

Taras Kuzio Taras Kuzio is a Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( Kyiv, Ukraine). His area of study is Russian and Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. Education Taras Kuzio is of Ukrainian de ...

said that "Russia has an even more impossible time recognizing Ukraine's sovereignty over the Crimea and the port of

– as seen by public opinion in Russia, statements by politicians, including members of the ruling United Russia party, experts and journalists". In 2011, William Varettoni wrote that "Russia wants to annex Crimea and is merely waiting for the right opportunity, most likely under the pretense of defending Russian brethren abroad".

Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity

The

Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

protest movement began in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in late November 2013 after President

, of the

Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

, failed to sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement. Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential election with strong support from voters in the

eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...

. The Crimean autonomous government strongly supported Yanukovych and condemned the protests, saying they were "threatening political stability in the country". The Crimean autonomous parliament said that it supported the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

's decision to suspend negotiations on the pending association agreement and urged Crimeans to "strengthen friendly ties with Russian regions". On 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council "promised" to consider holding a referendum on the peninsula's status. Speaker Vladimir Klychnikov asked to appeal to the Russian government to "guarantee the preservation of Crimean autonomy".The Chronicles of Alienation; The annexation of Crimea from 2 December 2013, through 4 April 2014

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' (, ) is an illustrated weekly magazine and news outlet covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides a range of analysis, opinion, interviews, feature p ...

(16 March 2015) The

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

(SBU) responded by opening a

criminal case Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

to investigate the possible "subversion" of Ukraine's territorial integrity. On 20 February 2014, during a visit to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea This is a list of chairmen of the Supreme Council of Crimea: Notes References External linksOfficial website {{Crimea topics Supreme Council, chairmen Crimea, Supreme Council ...

Vladimir Konstantinov Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov (; born March 19, 1967) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career, from 1991 to 1997 with the Detroit Red Wings. Previously, he had played for So ...

stated that the

1954 transfer of Crimea In 1954, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union transferred the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. The territory had been recognized within the Soviet Union as having "close ties" to the Ukrainian SSR, a ...

from the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

to the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

had been a mistake. The Euromaidan protests came to a head in late February 2014, and Yanukovych and many of his ministers fled the capital on 22 February. After his flight, opposition parties and defectors from the Party of Regions put together a parliamentary quorum in the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

(the Ukrainian parliament), and voted on 22 February to remove Yanukovych from his post on the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his duties.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk (born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served two terms as Prime Minister of Ukraine – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and from 27 November 2014 to 14 April 2016. He was t ...

was appointed by the Rada to serve as the head of a

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

until new presidential and parliament elections could be held. This new government was recognised internationally. Russian government and

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

have described these events as a "

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

" and have said that the caretaker government was illegitimate, while researchers consider the subsequent annexation of Crimea to be a true

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, because the Russian military seized Crimea's parliament and government buildings and instigated the replacement of its government with Russian proxies.Putin on Ukraine crisis: 'It is an unconstitutional coup'

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(4 March 2014)Ukraine defends vote despite unrest, Putin pledges 'respect'

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

(24 March 2014)

Annexation

Russian invasion of Crimea

The February 2014

revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

that ousted Ukrainian president

sparked a political crisis in Crimea, which initially manifested as

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Protest, a public act of objection, disapproval or d ...

against the new interim Ukrainian government,In Yalta was organized Euromaidan, in Sevastopol were demanding to imprison the opposition
19 February 2014 but rapidly escalated. In January 2014, the

city council had already called for formation of "people's militia" units to "ensure firm defence" of the city from "extremism". At the end of January 2014, the Russian businessman

Konstantin Malofeyev Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeev (, born 3 July 1974) is a Russian media mogul and the chairman of the non-governmental and pro-monarchism, monarchist organisation called the Society for the Development of Russian Historical Education "Double-H ...

travelled with his head of security, former

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB) officer

Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...

, to Crimea where he met with

, Chairman of the Supreme Council, raising the question of whether he would be prepared to take “more drastic measures” to enforce Crimea's autonomy should Kiev descend into complete chaos. Konstantinov had already met with

Nikolai Patrushev Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and former intelligence officer who served as the secretary of the Security Council of Russia from 2008 to 2024. He previously served as the director o ...

, head of the

Security Council of Russia The Security Council of the Russian Federation ( SCRF or Sovbez; ) is a constitutional consultative body of the Russian president that supports the president's decision-making on national security affairs and matters of strategic interest. Comp ...

, in Moscow in December 2013 where he told Patrushev that if Yanukovych was overthrown, Crimea would be ready to break off and become part of Russia. At the end of January 2014, Konstantinov met with

Vladislav Surkov Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (; born 21 September 1964) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 2011, during which time he was often viewed as the main ideologis ...

, Putin's aide in charge of Ukraine. On February 4, Konstantinov initiated an appeal to Putin to protect the region’s autonomy and started preparing a “survey” of Crimeans on what its status should be. Surkov visited Crimea on February 14 where he might have tried to recruit Crimean prime minister

Anatolii Mohyliov Anatolii Volodymyrovych Mohyliov (; ; born 6 April 1955) is a Ukrainian politician. He served as the prime minister of Crimea and the Ukraine, Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), minister of Internal Affairs.Kuban Cossacks Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...

from the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

region joined these units in late February. They were also reinforced by thousands of Russian soldiers dressed as civilians. The activities of these groups were closely coordinated with Russian military forces and planned by Russian defence officials. Igor Girkin was responsible for the operational control of some of the units and their coordination with Russian security officials. By different counts, close to ten thousand people joined these self-defence groups, but the exact share of locals remains unknown. On February 20 several buses with Crimean license plates were stopped at a pro-Maidan checkpoint in a town in

Cherkasy oblast Cherkasy Oblast (, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna (, ) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central Ukraine located along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The Capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the cit ...

. Their passengers were violently intimidated and some buses were burned. This incident was subsequently used by Russian propaganda which made unsubstantiated claims that the passengers were killed in gruesome ways. The

Verkhovna Rada of Crimea Verkhovna Rada of Crimea or the Supreme Council of Crimea, officially the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, was the Ukrainian legislative body for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea before the annexation of Crimea by Russi ...

members called for an extraordinary meeting on 21 February. In response to Russian separatist sentiment, the

(SBU) said that it would "use severe measures to prevent any action taken against diminishing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine". The party with the largest number of seats in the Crimean parliament (80 of 100), the

of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, did not discuss Crimean secession, and were supportive of an agreement between President Yanukovych and

activists to end the unrest that was struck on the same day in

. Russia was concerned that the new government avowedly committed to closer relations with the West put its strategic positions in Crimea at risk. On 22–23 February, Russian president

convened an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss extrication of the deposed Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, and at the end of that meeting Putin had remarked that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia". After that

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

and FSB began negotiating deals with local sympathizers to ensure that when the operation began there would be well‑armed "local self‑defense groups" on the streets for support. On 23 February pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. According to political scientist Daniel Treisman, there are doubts about Putin's claim that the decision was made on February 23. According to a source close to the commander of the operation, Russian special forces in the port of Novorossiysk and the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol had already been put on alert on February 18. On February 20, they were ordered to blockade Ukrainian military bases in Crimea in a “peacekeeping” operation. Participants in the operation were later presented with a medal for the retaking of Crimea, on which the period of the operation was engraved February 20 to March 18. Crimean prime minister

Anatolii Mohyliov Anatolii Volodymyrovych Mohyliov (; ; born 6 April 1955) is a Ukrainian politician. He served as the prime minister of Crimea and the Ukraine, Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), minister of Internal Affairs.Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

, following a pro-Russian demonstration the previous day where protesters had replaced the Ukrainian flag over the parliament with a Russian flag, a pro-Euromaidan rally of between 5,000 and 15,000 was held in support of the new government, and demanding the resignation of the Crimean parliament; attendees waved Ukrainian, Tatar, and European Union flags. Meanwhile, in Sevastopol, thousands protested against the new Ukrainian government, voted to establish a parallel administration, and created civil defence squads with the support of the Russian

Night Wolves The Night Wolves () or Night Wolves Motorcycle Club is a Russian motorcycle club that was founded around the Moscow area in 1989. It holds an international status with at least 45 chapters world-wide. History The club began forming out of a ...

motorcycle club. Protesters waved Russian flags, chanted "Putin is our president!" and said they would refuse to further pay taxes to the Ukrainian state. Russian military convoys were also alleged to be seen in the area. In

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

, pro-Russian protesters attempted to remove the Ukrainian flag from atop city hall and replace it with the flag of Russia. Over 200 attended, waving Russian, orange-and-black St. George, and the

Russian Unity The Russian Unity (; ) was a political party in Crimea, registered in October 2008.

party flags. Mayor Oleh Osadchy attempted to disperse the crowd and police eventually arrived to defend the flag. The mayor said "This is the territory of Ukraine, Crimea. Here's a flag of Crimea," but was accused of treason and a fight ensued over the flagpole. On 24 February, more rallied outside the Sevastopol city state administration. Pro-Russian demonstrators accompanied by neo-

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

demanded the election of a Russian citizen as mayor and hoisted Russian flags around the city administration; they also handed out leaflets to sign up for a self-defence militia, warning that the "

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

Europlague is knocking".

Volodymyr Yatsuba Volodymyr Hryhorovych Yatsuba (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Володимир Григорович Яцуба; born 1 July 1947) is a Ukrainian politician who served as Governor of Sevastopol from 2011 to 2014./(website has automatic Google Tr ...

, head of Sevastopol administration, announced his resignation, citing the "decision of the city's inhabitants" made at a pro-Russian rally, and while caretaker city administration initially leaned towards recognition of new Ukrainian government, continued pressure from pro-Russian activists forced local authorities to concede. Consequently,

Sevastopol City Council The Sevastopol City Council ( Crimean Tatar: Aqyar şeer şurası, , ) is the unicameral legislature of the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol. The council is composed of 76 members. Background The city state administration was first created in 1992 ...

illegally elected Alexei Chaly, a Russian citizen, as mayor. Under the law of Ukraine, it was not possible for Sevastopol to elect a mayor, as the ''Chairman of the Sevastopol City State Administration'', appointed by the

president of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

, functions as its mayor. A thousand protesters present chanted "A Russian mayor for a Russian city". On 25 February, several hundred pro-Russian protesters blocked the Crimean parliament demanding non-recognition of the central government of Ukraine and a referendum on Crimea's status. On the same day, crowds gathered again outside Sevastopol's city hall on Tuesday as rumours spread that security forces could arrest Chaly, but police chief Alexander Goncharov said that his officers would refuse to carry out "criminal orders" issued by Kyiv. Viktor Neganov, a Sevastopol-based adviser to the Internal Affairs Minister, condemned the events in the city as a coup. "Chaly represents the interests of the Kremlin which likely gave its tacit approval," he said. Sevastopol City State Administration chairman Vladimir Yatsuba was booed and heckled on 23 February, when he told a pro-Russian rally that Crimea was part of Ukraine. He resigned the next day. In Simferopol, the Regional State Administration building was blockaded with hundreds of protesters, including neo-Cossacks, demanding a referendum of separation; the rally was organized by the ''

Crimean Front The Crimean Front () was one of the Red Army fronts of World War II, which existed from January–May 1942. Composition It was commanded throughout its existence by Dmitr Timofeyevich Kozlov, and was made up of * 44th Soviet Army ( Stepan ...

''. On 26 February, near the

building, 4,000–5,000

and supporters of the

-Crimea movement faced 600–700 supporters of pro-Russian organizations and the

Russian Unity The Russian Unity (; ) was a political party in Crimea, registered in October 2008.

Party. Tatars leaders organised the demonstration in order to block the sitting of the Crimean parliament which is "doing everything to execute plans of separation of Crimea from Ukraine". Supreme Council Chairman

said that the Crimean parliament would not consider separation from Ukraine, and that earlier reports that parliament would hold a debate on the matter were provocations. Tatars created self-defence groups, encouraged collaboration with Russians, Ukrainians, and people of other nationalities, and called for the protection of churches, mosques, synagogues, and other important sites. By nightfall the Crimean Tatars had left; several hundred Russian Unity supporters rallied on. The new Ukrainian government's acting Internal Affairs Minister

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov (, ; born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician of Armenian descent who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 2014 to 2021. He was the Chairman of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration from ...

tasked Crimean law enforcement agencies not to provoke conflicts and to do whatever necessary to prevent clashes with pro-Russian forces; and he added "I think, that way – through a dialogue – we shall achieve much more than with standoffs". New

(SBU) chief

Valentyn Nalyvaichenko Valentyn Oleksandrovych Nalyvaichenko (; born 8 June 1966) is a Ukrainian diplomat and politician. On 24 February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) appointed Nalyvaichenko the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), on 18 J ...

requested that the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

provide around-the-clock monitoring of the security situation in Crimea. Russian troops took control of the main route to

on orders from Russian president

. A military checkpoint, with a Russian flag and Russian military vehicles, was set up on the main highway between the city and

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Russian takeover

On 27 February, unmarked Russian forces in cooperation with local nationalist paramilitaries took over the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

, with

Russian special forces SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

seizing Seizings are a class of stopping knots used to semi-permanently bind together two ropes, two parts of the same rope, or rope and another object. Akin to lashings, they use string or small-stuff to produce friction and leverage to immobilize lar ...

the

building of the Supreme Council of Crimea The building of the Supreme Council of Crimea (; ) is an administrative building in Simferopol, Crimea. It housed the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and currently hosts the State Council of Republic of Crimea following the ...

and the building of the Council of Ministers in

. Russian flags were raised over these buildings and

barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denotes ...

s were erected outside them. Pro-Russian forces also occupied several localities in

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

on the

Arabat Spit The Arabat Spit (; ; ) or Arabat Arrow is a spit (landform), barrier spit that separates the large, shallow, salty Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. The spit runs between the Henichesk Strait in the north and the north-eastern shores of Crim ...

, which is geographically a part of Crimea. Whilst the "

little green men Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoids with green skin and sometimes antennae on their heads. The term "little green men" came into popular usage in reference to aliens during the reports of ...

" were occupying the Crimean parliament building, the parliament held an emergency session. It voted to terminate the Crimean government, and replace Prime Minister

Anatolii Mohyliov Anatolii Volodymyrovych Mohyliov (; ; born 6 April 1955) is a Ukrainian politician. He served as the prime minister of Crimea and the Ukraine, Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), minister of Internal Affairs.Sergey Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (; ; ; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving as the head of the Republic of Crimea since 9 October 2014, a territory internationally recognised as part of Ukraine. Biography Sergey Aksyonov was ...

.Crimea sets date for autonomy vote amid gunmen, anti-Kiev protests
(27 February 2014). Aksyonov belonged to the

Russian Unity The Russian Unity (; ) was a political party in Crimea, registered in October 2008.

party, which received 4% of the vote in the last election. According to the

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

, the prime minister of Crimea is appointed by the Supreme Council of Crimea in consultation with the

.Crimean parliament to decide on appointment of autonomous republic's premier on Tuesday

Interfax Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(7 November 2011). Both Aksyonov and speaker

stated that they viewed Viktor Yanukovych as the ''de jure'' president of Ukraine, through whom they were able to ask Russia for assistance. The parliament also voted to hold a referendum on greater autonomy set for 25 May. The troops had cut all of the building's communications, and took MPs' phones as they entered. No independent journalists were allowed inside the building while the votes were taking place. Some MPs said they were being threatened and that votes were cast for them and other MPs, even though they were not in the chamber.

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

reported "it is impossible to find out whether all the 64 members of the 100-member legislature who were registered as present at when the two decisions were voted on or whether someone else used the plastic voting cards of some of them" because due to the armed occupation of parliament it was unclear how many MPs were present.Number of Crimean deputies present at referendum resolution vote unclear

(27 February 2014). The head of parliament's information and analysis department, Olha Sulnikova, had phoned from inside the parliamentary building to journalists and had told them 61 of the registered 64 deputies had voted for the referendum resolution and 55 for the resolution to dismiss the government. Donetsk People's Republic separatist

said in January 2015 that Crimean members of parliament were held at gunpoint, and were forced to support the annexation. These actions were immediately declared illegal by the Ukrainian interim government. On the same day, more troops in unmarked uniforms, assisted this time by what appeared to be local '' Berkut'' riot police (as well as Russian troops from the 31st Separate Airborne Assault Brigade dressed in Berkut uniforms), established

security checkpoint Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...

s on the

Isthmus of Perekop The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyi pereshyiok''; ; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek,'' , ; ; transliteration: ''Taphros''), is the narrow, wide strip of land that connects the C ...

and the Chonhar Peninsula, which separate Crimea from the Ukrainian mainland. Within hours, Ukraine had been cut off from Crimea. Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian TV channels became unavailable for Crimean viewers, and some of them were replaced with Russian stations. On 28 February, an estimated 1,400 Spetsnaz troops were flown in to the Gvardeyskoye air base from Russia. On the same day, Putin assured German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

in a phone call that no regular Russian soldiers are active in Crimea. On 1 March 2014, Aksyonov said that he would exercise control of all Ukrainian military and security installations on the peninsula. He also asked Putin for "assistance in ensuring peace and tranquillity" in Crimea. Putin promptly received authorisation from the

Federation Council of Russia The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 ...

for a

Russian military intervention in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then supported Russian paramilitaries who began a war in the eastern Donbas re ...

until the "political-social situation in the country is normalized".Council of the Federation: Russia may introduce troops into Crimea

Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

. 1 March 2014. Putin's swift manoeuvre prompted protests of some Russian intelligentsia and demonstrations in Moscow against a Russian military campaign in Crimea. By 2 March, Russian troops moving from the country's naval base in

and reinforced by troops, armour, and helicopters from mainland Russia exercised complete control over the Crimean Peninsula. Russian troops operated in Crimea without insignia. On 3 March they blockaded Southern Naval Base. On 4 March, Ukrainian General Staff said there were units of the 18th Motor Rifle Brigade, 31st Air Assault Brigade and 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade deployed and operating in Crimea, instead of

Russian Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern M ...

personnel, which violated international agreements signed by Ukraine and Russia. At a press conference on the same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Russia had no plans to annex Crimea. He also said that it had no plans to invade Ukraine, but that it might intervene if Russians in Ukraine were threatened. This was part of a pattern of public denials of the ongoing Russian military operation. Numerous media reports and statements by the Ukrainian and foreign governments noted the identity of the unmarked troops as Russian soldiers, but Russian officials concealed the identity of their forces, claiming they were local "self-defence" units over whom they had no authority. As late as 17 April, Russian foreign minister

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

said that there were no "excessive Russian troops" in Ukraine. At the same press conference, Putin said of the peninsula that "only citizens themselves, in conditions of free expression of will and their security can determine their future". Putin later acknowledged that he had ordered "work to bring Crimea back into Russia" as early as February. He also acknowledged that in early March there were "secret opinion polls" held in Crimea, which, according to him, reported overwhelming popular support for Crimea's incorporation into Russia. Russia eventually admitted its troops' presence. Defence Minister

Sergey Shoygu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Security Council since 2024. He served ...

said the country's military actions in Crimea were undertaken by forces of the

and were justified by "threat to lives of Crimean

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

s" and danger of "takeover of Russian military infrastructure by extremists". Ukraine complained that by increasing its troop presence in Crimea, Russia violated the agreement under which it headquartered its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and violated the country's

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

. The United States and United Kingdom accused Russia of breaking the terms of the

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises four substantially identical political agreements signed at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 December 1994, to provide security assu ...

, by which Russia, the US, and the UK had reaffirmed their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the

or political independence of Ukraine. The Russian government said the

Budapest Memorandum The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises four substantially identical political agreements signed at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 December 1994, to provide security assu ...

did not apply due to "circumstances resulting from the action of internal political or socio-economic factors". In March 2015, retired Russian Admiral stated that according to his information the Russian troop deployment in Crimea included six helicopter landings and three landings of an

IL-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

with 500 people.

Legal issues

The obligations between Russia and Ukraine with regard to

and the prohibition of the use of force are laid down in a number of multilateral or bilateral agreements to which Russia and Ukraine are signatories.

said that Russian troops in the Crimean Peninsula were aimed "to ensure proper conditions for the people of Crimea to be able to freely express their will," whilst Ukraine and other nations argue that such intervention is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. In the 1994

Russia was among those who affirmed to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine (including Crimea) and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. The 1997 Russian–Ukrainian Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership again reaffirmed the inviolability of the borders between both states, and required Russian forces in Crimea to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, honor its legislation and not interfere in the internal affairs of the country. The Russian–Ukrainian

Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet The Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet consists of three bilateral agreements between Russia and Ukraine signed on 28 May 1997 whereby the two countries established two independent national fleets, divided armame ...

signed in 1997 and prolonged in 2010, determined the status of Russian military presence in Crimea and restricted their operations, including requirement to show their "military identification cards" when crossing the international border and that operations beyond designated deployment sites was permitted only after coordination with Ukraine. According to Ukraine usage of navigation stations and troop movements were improperly covered by the treaty and were violated many times as well as related court decisions. February's troop movements were in "complete disregard" of the treaty. 2014-03-09 - Perevalne military base - 0162

2014-03-09 - Perevalne military base - 0162

According to the Constitution of Russia, the admission of new federal subjects is governed by federal constitutional law (art. 65.2). Such a law was adopted in 2001, and it postulates that admission of a foreign state or its part into Russia shall be based on a mutual accord between the Russian Federation and the relevant state and shall take place pursuant to an international treaty between the two countries; moreover, it must be initiated by the state in question, not by its subdivision or by Russia. On 28 February 2014, Russian MP

Sergey Mironov Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He served as Chairman of the Federation Council (Russia), Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliam ...

, along with other members of the

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

, introduced a bill to alter Russia's procedure for adding federal subjects. According to the bill, accession could be initiated by a subdivision of a country, provided that there is "absence of efficient sovereign state government in foreign state"; the request could be made either by subdivision bodies on their own or on the basis of a referendum held in the subdivision in accordance with corresponding national legislation. On 11 March 2014, both the

and the

adopted a

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

, which stated their intent to declare independence and request full accession to Russia should the pro-Russian option receive the most votes during the scheduled status referendum. The declaration directly referred to the

Kosovo independence precedent On 17 February 2008, the majority of members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including Hashim Thaçi, and Fatmir Sejdiu (who were not members of the Assembly), not acting in the capacity of PISG, declared Kosovo an independent and sovereign state. ...

, by which the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

-populated

Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (APKM) (; ), commonly known as Kosovo (; ) and abbreviated to Kosmet (from ''Kosovo (region), Kosovo'' and ''Metohija, Metohija''; ) or KiM (), is an autonomous province that occupies the souther ...

declared independence from Russia's ally

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

as the

Republic of Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

in 2008—a unilateral action Russia staunchly opposed. The Russian government used

Kosovo independence The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, which proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo to be an independent and sovereign state, was adopted at a meeting held on 17 February 2008 by 109 out of the 120 members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including ...

precedent as a legal justification for the annexation of Crimea Many analysts saw the Crimean declaration as an overt effort to pave the way for Crimea's annexation by Russia and reject Russia's Kosovo precedent justification as being different compared to Crimea events, comparing the annexation to the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's anschluss of Austria and Czechoslovak

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

instead. Crimean authorities' stated plans to declare independence from Ukraine made the Mironov bill unnecessary. On 20 March 2014, two days after the treaty of accession was signed, the bill was withdrawn by its initiators. At its meeting on 21–22 March, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...

stated that the Mironov bill violated "in particular, the principles of territorial integrity, national sovereignty, non-intervention in the internal affairs of another state and

pacta sunt servanda ''Pacta sunt servanda'' ("agreements must be kept.") is a brocard and a fundamental principle of law which holds that treaties or contracts are binding upon the parties that entered into the treaty or contract. It is customary international law ...

" and was therefore incompatible with

Crimean status referendum

On 27 February 2014, following the takeover of its building and replacement of Ukrainian-elected officials with Russian-controlled actors by Russian special forces, the

voted to hold a

on 25 May, with the initial question as to whether Crimea should upgrade its autonomy within Ukraine. The referendum date was later moved from 25 May to 30 March. A Ukrainian court declared the referendum to be illegal. On 6 March, the Supreme Council moved the referendum date to 16 March and changed its scope to ask a new question: whether Crimea should apply to join Russia as a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

or restore the

1992 Crimean constitution After a referendum on 20 January 1991, Crimea regained its status as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. As this was months before the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine on 24 August 1991 — by December 1991 internationally recognized — ...

within Ukraine, which the Ukrainian government had previously invalidated. This referendum, unlike one announced earlier, contained no option to maintain the ''status quo'' of governance under the 1998 constitution. Ukraine's acting president,

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov (, ; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptists in Ukraine, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukra ...

, stated that "The authorities in Crimea are totally illegitimate, both the parliament and the government. They are forced to work under the barrel of a gun and all their decisions are dictated by fear and are illegal". On 14 March, the Crimean status referendum was deemed unconstitutional by the

Constitutional Court of Ukraine The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (, ) is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of laws and other legal acts. The Court initiated its ac ...

, and a day later, the

formally dissolved the Crimean parliament. With a referendum looming, Russia massed troops near the Ukrainian eastern border, likely to threaten escalation and stymie Ukraine's response. The referendum was held despite the opposition from the Ukrainian government. Official results reported about 95.5% of participating voters in Crimea (turnout was 83%) were in favour of seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia. Crimean Tatars mostly boycotted the referendum. A report by Evgeny Bobrov, a member of the Russian President's Human Rights Council, suggested the official results were inflated and between 50 and 60% of Crimeans voted for the reunification with Russia, with the turnout of 30-50%, meaning that 15% to 30% of Crimeans eligible to vote voted for the Russian annexation (the support was higher in administratively separate Sevastopol). According to a survey carried out by

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

in 2014, 54% of Crimean residents supported the right of regions to secede, 91% believed the referendum was free and fair and 88% believed that the government in Kyiv ought to recognize the results of the vote. The means by which the referendum was conducted were widely criticised by foreign governments and in the Ukrainian and international press, with reports that anyone holding a Russian passport regardless of residency in Crimea was allowed to vote.

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

refused to send observers to the referendum, stating that invitation should have come from an OSCE member state in question (i.e. Ukraine), rather than local authorities. Russia invited a group of observers from various European

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

political parties aligned with Putin, who stated the referendum was conducted in a free and fair manner.

Proclamations of independence of the Republic of Crimea

The Republic of Crimea was short lived. On 17 March, following the official announcement of the

results, the

declared the formal independence of the Republic of Crimea, comprising the territories of both the

, which was granted

special status Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

within the breakaway republic. The Crimean parliament declared the "partial repeal" of Ukrainian laws and began nationalising private and Ukrainian state property located on the Crimean Peninsula, including Ukrainian

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s and property of

Chornomornaftogaz Chornomornaftogaz (, lit. "Black Sea oil and gas") is a Ukrainian oil and gas company with natural gas fields in the Black Sea. The company was established in Ukrainian Simferopol, Crimea with the order of the Ministry of Gas Industry of the US ...

. Parliament also formally requested that the

Russian government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

admit the breakaway republic into Russia, with Sevastopol asking to be admitted as a "city of federal significance". On the same day, the '' de facto'' Supreme Council renamed itself the

State Council of Crimea The State Council of Crimea is the parliament of the Russia-administered Republic of Crimea (Russia), Republic of Crimea. It claims to be a continuation of the 'Supreme Council of Crimea' following a vote by the Ukrainian parliament to dissolv ...

, declared the

Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...

an official currency alongside the

hryvnia The ( ; , ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 kopiykas (). It is named after a measure of weight used in Kievan Rus'. Etymology The currency of Kie ...

, and in June the Russian ruble became the only form of legal tender. Putin officially recognised the Republic of Crimea 'as a sovereign and independent state' by

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

on 17 March. On 21 March the Republic of Crimea became a federal Subject of Russia.

Accession treaty and finalization of the annexation

The Treaty on Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia was signed between representatives of the Republic of Crimea (including Sevastopol, with which the rest of Crimea briefly unified) and the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014 to lay out terms for the immediate admission of the

and

federal subjects of Russia The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

and part of the Russian Federation. On 19 March, the

Russian Constitutional Court The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation () is a high court within the judiciary of Russia which is empowered to rule on whether certain laws or presidential decrees are in fact contrary to the Constitution of Russia. Its objective is o ...

decided that the treaty is in compliance with the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

. The treaty was ratified by the Federal Assembly and

Federation Council The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. Each of the 89 federal s ...

by 21 March.

A Just Russia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

Ilya Ponomarev Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (, ; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian people, Russian-Ukrainian people, Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016. He was the only member of the State Duma not to vote in fa ...

was the only

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

member to vote against the treaty. The

and the

of Sevastopol became the 84th and 85th

. During a controversial incident in Simferopol on 18 March, some Ukrainian sources said that armed gunmen that were reported to be Russian special forces allegedly stormed the base. This was contested by Russian authorities, who subsequently announced the arrest of an alleged Ukrainian sniper in connection with the killings, but later denied the arrest had occurred. The two casualties had a joint funeral attended by both the Crimean and Ukrainian authorities, and both the Ukrainian soldier and Russian paramilitary "self-defence volunteer" were mourned together. As of March 2014 the incident was under investigation by both the Crimean authorities and the Ukrainian military. In response to shooting, Ukraine's then acting defense minister

Ihor Tenyukh Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh (; born 23 May 1958) is a former Ukrainian admiral and Svoboda party member. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when dismissed by Viktor Yanukovych. Tenyukh fully supported the 2013–2014 u ...

authorised Ukrainian troops stationed in Crimea to use deadly force in life-threatening situations. This increased the risk of bloodshed during any takeover of Ukrainian military installations, yet the ensuing Russian operations to seize the remaining Ukrainian military bases and ships in Crimea did not bring new fatalities, although weapons were used and several people were injured. The Russian units involved in such operations were ordered to avoid usage of deadly force when possible. Morale among the Ukrainian troops, which for three weeks were blockaded inside their compounds without any assistance from the Ukrainian government, was very low, and the vast majority of them did not offer any real resistance. On 24 March, the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

ordered the full withdrawal of all of its armed forces from Crimea. Approximately 50% of the Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea had defected to the Russian military. On 26 March the last Ukrainian military bases and

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

ships were captured by Russian troops.Russian troops captured all Ukrainian parts in the Crimea

BBC Ukrainian BBC News Ukrainian () is the Ukrainian service of BBC News which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Ukraine and the world. It started broadcasts in 1992.Бі-Бі-Сі – зрозуміти світ, BBC ...

(26 March 2014)

Occupation

On 27 March, the

adopted a

non-binding Non-binding or nonbinding may refer to * Nonbinding allocation of responsibility (NBAR) in a superfund * Non-binding authority in law * Non-binding arbitration * Non-binding constraint, mathematics * Non-binding opinion in patent law: ** Interna ...

resolution, which declared the Crimean referendum and subsequent status change invalid, by a vote of 100 to 11, with 58 abstentions and 24 absent. Crimea and Sevastopol switched to

Moscow Time Moscow Time (MSK; ) is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the eleven time zones of Russia, after the non-continguous Kaliningrad enclave. It h ...

at 10 p.m. on 29 March. On 31 March, Russia unilaterally denounced the

Kharkiv Pact The Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, widely referred to as the Kharkiv Pact () or Kharkov Accords (), was a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea was exte ...

and

. Putin cited "the accession of the

and Sevastopol into Russia" and resulting "practical end of

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the use of a good, service or property owned by another over a fixed period of time. To maintain such an agreement, a rental agreement (or lease) is sig ...

relationships" as his reason for the denunciation. On the same day, he signed a decree formally rehabilitating the

, who were ousted from their lands in 1944, and the Armenian, German, Greek, and Bulgarian minority communities in the region that

also ordered removed in the 1940s. Also on 31 March 2014, the Russian

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

announced a series of programmes aimed at swiftly incorporating the territory of Crimea into Russia's

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. Medvedev announced the creation of a new ministry for Crimean affairs, and ordered Russia's top ministers who joined him there to make coming up with a development plan their top priority. On 3 April 2014, the Republic of Crimea and the city of

became parts of Russia's

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country ...

. On 7 May 2015, Crimea switched its phone code system from the Ukrainian number system to the Russian number system. On 11 April, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea and City Charter of Sevastopol were adopted by their respective legislatures, coming into effect the following day in addition the new federal subjects were enumerated in a newly published revision of the Russian Constitution. On 14 April,

announced that he would open a ruble-only account with

Bank Rossiya The Rossiya Bank (Bank Rossiya (), in Russian: Акционерный коммерческий банк Россия, АКБ Россия) is a Russian joint stock bank founded on June 27, 1990. The company's headquarters are in Saint Petersburg ...

and would make it the primary bank in the newly annexed Crimea as well as giving the right to service payments on Russia's $36billion wholesale electricity market – which gave the bank $112million annually from commission charges alone. Location UK-Crimea-RU

Russia withdrew its forces from southern

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

in December 2014. In July 2015, Russian prime minister,

, declared that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia. Until 2016 these new subjects were grouped in the

Crimean Federal District The Crimean Federal District () was a federal district of Russia. It was established on March 21, 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The federal district included both the Republic of Crimea and the federal city o ...

. On 8 August 2016, Ukraine reported that Russia had increased its military presence along the demarcation line. In response to this military buildup Ukraine also deployed more troops and resources closer to the border with Crimea. The Pentagon has downplayed a Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling Russian troops along the border a regular military exercise. On 10 August, Russia claimed two servicemen were killed in clashes with Ukrainian commandos, and that Ukrainian servicemen had been captured with a total of 40kg of explosives in their possession. Ukraine denied that the incident took place. Russian accounts claimed that Russian FSB detained "Ukrainian saboteurs" and "terrorists" near

Armiansk Armiansk ( ; ; ; ) is a city of regional significance in the northern Crimean peninsula. The status of Crimea has been disputed by Ukraine and Russia since February 2014. Armiansk is located on the Isthmus of Perekop and serves as the administrat ...

. The ensuing gunfight left one FSB officer and a suspect dead. A number of individuals were detained, including Yevhen Panov, who is described by Russian sources as a Ukrainian military intelligence officer and leader of the sabotage group. The group was allegedly planning terror attacks on important infrastructure in Armiansk, Crimea. Ukrainian media reported that Panov was a military volunteer fighting in the east of the country, however he has more recently been associated with a charitable organization. Russia also claimed that the alleged border infiltration was accompanied by "heavy fire" from Ukrainian territory, resulting in the death of a Russian soldier. The Ukrainian government called the Russian accusations "cynical" and "senseless" and argued that since Crimea was Ukrainian territory, it was Russia which "has been generously financing and actively supporting terrorism on Ukrainian territory". In 2017, a survey performed by the Centre for East European and International Studies showed that 85% of the non-Crimean Tatar respondents believed that if the referendum would be held again it would lead to the same or "only marginally different" results. Crimea was fully integrated into the Russian media sphere, and links with the rest of Ukraine were hardly existent. On 26 November 2018, lawmakers in the Ukraine Parliament overwhelmingly backed the imposition of martial law along Ukraine's coastal regions and those bordering Russia in response to the firing upon and seizure of Ukrainian naval ships by Russia near the Crimean Peninsula a day earlier. A total of 276 lawmakers in Kyiv backed the measure, which took effect on 28 November 2018 and was ended on 26 December. On 28 December 2018, Russia completed a high-tech security fence marking the de facto border between Crimea and Ukraine. In 2021, Ukraine launched the

Crimea Platform The Crimea Platform (; ) is a diplomatic summit initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August 2021 and attended by delegations from 46 Western-aligned countries. It is designed to be an international coordination mechanism to res ...

, a diplomatic initiative aimed at protecting the rights of Crimean inhabitants and ultimately reversing the annexation of Crimea.

Transition and aftermath

Economic implications

Initially after the annexation, salaries rose, especially those of government workers. This was soon offset by the increase in prices caused by the depreciation of the ruble. Wages were cut back by 30% to 70% after Russian authority became established. Tourism, previously Crimea's main industry, suffered in particular, down by 50% from 2014 in 2015. Crimean agricultural yields were also significantly impacted by the annexation. Ukraine cut off supplies of water through the

North Crimean Canal The North Crimean Canal, formerly known as the North Crimean Canal of the Lenin's Komsomol of Ukraine in Soviet times, is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula. The c ...

, causing the 2014 rice crop to fail, and greatly damaging the

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

crops. The annexation had a negative influence on Russians working in Ukraine and Ukrainians working in Russia. The number of tourists visiting Crimea in the 2014 season was lower than in the previous years due to a combination of "Western sanctions", ethical objections by Ukrainians, and the difficulty of getting there for Russians. The Russian government attempted to stimulate the flow of tourists by subsidizing holidays in the peninsula for children and state workers from all Russia which worked mostly for state-owned hotels. In 2015, overall 3 million tourists visited Crimea according to official data, while before annexation it was around 5.5million on average. The shortage is attributed mostly to stopped flow of tourists from Ukraine. Hotels and restaurants are also experiencing problems with finding enough seasonal workers, who were most arriving from Ukraine in the preceding years. Tourists visiting state-owned hotels were complaining mostly about low standard of rooms and facilities, some of them still unrepaired from Soviet times. According to the German newspaper ''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

'', the annexation of Crimea is economically disadvantageous for the Russian Federation. Russia will have to spend billions of euros a year to pay salaries and pensions. Moreover, Russia will have to undertake costly projects to connect Crimea to the Russian water supply and power system because Crimea has no land connection to Russia and at present (2014) gets water, gas and electricity from mainland Ukraine. This required building a bridge and a pipeline across the

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...

. Also, Novinite claims that a Ukrainian expert told ''Die Welt'' that Crimea "will not be able to attract tourists". The then first Deputy to

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

of Russian Federation Tatyana Nesterenko said that the decision to annex Crimea was made by Vladimir Putin exclusively, without consulting Russia's Finance Ministry. The Russian

business newspaper Business journalism is the part of journalism that tracks, records, analyzes, and interprets the business, economic and financial activities and changes that take place in societies. Topics widely cover the entire purview of all commercial act ...

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

'' expresses an opinion that Russia will not acquire anything economically from "accessing" Crimea, which is not very developed industrially, having just a few big factories, and whose yearly gross product is only $4billion. The newspaper also says that everything from Russia will have to be delivered by sea, higher costs of transportation will result in higher prices for everything, and to avoid a decline in living standards Russia will have to subsidise Crimean people for a few months. In total, Kommersant estimates the costs of integrating Crimea into Russia in $30billion over the next decade, i.e. $3billion per year. Western oil expertsestimate that Russia's seizing of Crimea, and the associated control of an area of

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

more than three times its land area gives it access to oil and gas reserves potentially worth trillions of dollars. It also deprives Ukraine of its chances of energy independence. Moscow's acquisition may alter the route along which the

South Stream South Stream (; ; ; ; ; ) is a canceled pipeline project to transport natural gas of the Russian Federation through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and through Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia further to Austria. It was never finished. The project was f ...

pipeline would be built, saving Russia money, time and engineering challenges. It would also allow Russia to avoid building in Turkish territorial waters, which was necessary in the original route to avoid Ukrainian territory. This pipeline was later canceled in favour of

TurkStream TurkStream ( or ''Türk Akımı'', ; former name: Turkish Stream) is a natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Natural gas in Turkey, Turkey. It starts from Russkaya compressor station near Anapa in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, Krasnodar Region, c ...

, however. The Russian Federal Service for Communications (Roskomnadzor) warned about a transition period as Russian operators have to change the numbering capacity and subscribers.

Country code A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed. The term ''country code'' frequently re ...

will be replaced from the Ukrainian +380 to Russian +7. Codes in Crimea start with 65, but in the area of "7" the 6 is given to Kazakhstan which shares former Soviet Union +7 with Russia, so city codes have to change. The regulator assigned 869

dialling code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...

to Sevastopol and the rest of the peninsula received a 365 code. At the time of the unification with Russia, telephone operators and Internet service providers in Crimea and Sevastopol are connected to the outside world through the territory of Ukraine. Minister of Communications of Russia,

Nikolai Nikiforov Nikolay Anatolyevich Nikiforov (; born 24 June 1982) is a Russian politician. In 2012, he became Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia. Career At age 19, Nikiforov became deputy director of the Kazan Portal company. From 2006 ...

announced on his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account that

postal codes A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

in Crimea will now have six-figures: to the existing five-digit number the number two will be added at the beginning. For example, the Simferopol postal code 95000 will become 295000. In the area that now forms the border between Crimea and Ukraine mining the

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

inlets from the sea that constitute the natural borders, and in the spit of land left over stretches of no-man's-land with wire on either side was created. On early June that year

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

signed a Government resolution No.961 dated 5 June 2014 establishing air, sea, road and railway checkpoints. The adopted decisions create a legal basis for the functioning of a checkpoint system at the Russian state border in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. In the year following the annexation, armed men seized various Crimean businesses, including banks, hotels, shipyards, farms, gas stations, a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

, a dairy, and Yalta Film Studio. Russian media have noted this trend as "returning to the 90's," which is perceived as a period of anarchy and rule of gangs in Russia. After 2014 the Russian government invested heavily in the peninsula's infrastructure—repairing roads, modernizing hospitals and building the

Crimean Bridge The Crimean Bridge (, ; ), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in ...

that links the peninsula to the Russian mainland. Development of new sources of water was undertaken, with huge difficulties, to replace closed Ukrainian sources. In 2015, the Investigative Committee of Russia announced a number of theft and corruption cases in infrastructure projects in Crimea, for example; spending that exceeded the actual accounted costs by a factor of three. A number of Russian officials were also arrested for corruption, including head of federal tax inspection. (According to February 2016 official Ukrainian figures) after Russia's annexation 10% of

personnel left Crimea; accompanied by 6,000 of the pre-annexation 20,300 people strong

Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

. As result of the disputed political status of Crimea, Russian mobile operators never expanded their operations into Crimea and all mobile services are offered on the basis of "internal roaming," which caused significant controversy inside Russia. Telecoms however argued that expanding coverage to Crimea will put them at risk of Western sanctions and, as result, they will lose access to key equipment and software, none of which is produced locally. The first five years of Crimean occupation cost Russia over $20 billion, roughly equal to two years of Russia's entire education budget.

Human rights situation

According to the

and multiple

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, Russia is responsible for multiple

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

abuses, including torture,

arbitrary detention Arbitrary arrest and detention is the arrest and detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law or order. ...

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

s and instances of discrimination, including

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

in Crimea since the illegal annexation. The

UN Human Rights Office The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

has documented multiple human rights violations in Crimea. Noting that minority Crimean Tatars have been disproportionately affected. In December 2016, the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

voted on a resolution on human rights in occupied Crimea. It called on the Russian Federation "to take all measures necessary to bring an immediate end to all abuses against residents of Crimea, in particular reported discriminatory measures and practices, arbitrary detentions, torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, and to revoke all discriminatory legislation". It also urged Russia to "immediately release Ukrainian citizens who were unlawfully detained and judged without regard for elementary standards of justice". After the annexation, Russian authorities banned Crimean Tatar organizations, filed criminal charges against Tatar leaders and journalists, and targeted the Tatar population. The

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

have described this as the practice of collective punishment, and therefore as a

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

prohibited under international humanitarian law and

Geneva convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

. In March 2014,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

reported that pro-Ukrainian activists and journalists had been attacked, abducted, and tortured by "self-defense" groups. Some Crimeans were simply "disappeared" with no explanation. On 9 May 2014, the new "anti-

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

to the

Criminal Code of Russia The Russian Criminal Code () is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (UGKRF) came into force on 1 January 1997. The new Criminal Code replaced the So ...

, passed in December 2013, came into force. Article 280.1 designated incitement of violation of territorial integrity of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон от 28 December 2013 N 433-ФЗ "О внесении изменения в Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации"
ederal Law of 28 December 2013 No. 433-FZ "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation"/ref> (incl. calls for secession of Crimea from Russia) as a criminal offense in Russia, punishable by a fine of 300 thousand

roubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

or imprisonment up to 3 years. If such statements are made in public media or the internet, the punishment could be obligatory works up to 480 hours or imprisonment up to five years.

According to a report released on the Russian government-run President of Russia's Council on Civil Society and Human Rights website, Tatars who were opposed to Russian rule have been persecuted, Russian law restricting freedom of speech has been imposed, and the new Russian authorities "liquidated" the Kyiv Patriarchate Orthodox church on the peninsula. The Crimean Tatar television station was also shut down by the Russian authorities. On 16 May the new Russian authorities of Crimea issued a ban on the annual commemorations of the anniversary of the

deportation of the Crimean Tatars The deportation of the Crimean Tatars (, Cyrillic: Къырымтатар халкъынынъ сюргюнлиги) or the ('exile') was the ethnic cleansing and the cultural genocide of at least 191,044 Crimean Tatars that was carried out ...

by Stalin in 1944, citing "possibility of provocation by extremists" as a reason. Previously, when Crimea was controlled by Ukraine, these commemorations had taken place every year. The Russian-installed Crimean authorities also banned

Mustafa Dzhemilev Mustafa Abduldzhemil Jemilev (, ), also known widely with his adopted descriptive surname Qırımoğlu "Son of Crimea" ( Crimean Tatar Cyrillic: , ; born 13 November 1943, Ay Serez, Crimea), is the former chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean T ...

, a human rights activist,

Soviet dissident Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union (USSR) in the period from the mid-1960s ...

, member of the Ukrainian parliament, and former chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars from entering Crimea. Additionally, Mejlis reported, that officers of Russia's

(FSB) raided Tatar homes in the same week, on the pretense of "suspicion of terrorist activity". The Tatar community eventually did hold commemorative rallies in defiance of the ban. In response Russian authorities flew helicopters over the rallies in an attempt to disrupt them.

In May 2015, a local activist, Alexander Kostenko, was sentenced to four years in a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

. His lawyer, Dmitry Sotnikov, said that the case was fabricated and that his client had been beaten and starved. Crimean prosecutor

Natalia Poklonskaya Natalia Vladimirovna Poklonskaya (born 18 March 1980) is a Ukrainian-born Russian lawyer. She has served as the adviser to the Prosecutor-General of Russia, Prosecutor General of Russia since 14 June 2022. Poklonskaya was a Ukrainian prosecutor ...

accused Kostenko of making

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

gestures during the Maidan protests, and that they were judging "not just ostenko but the very idea of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

and Nazism, which are trying to raise their head once again". Sotnikov responded that "There are fabricated cases in Russia, but rarely such humiliation and physical harm. A living person is being tortured for a political idea, to be able to boast winning over fascism". In June 2015,

Razom Razom for Ukraine () is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to "unlocking the potential of Ukraine". Razom, which means “together” in Ukrainian, seeks to uphold the principles of the Revolution of Dignity and to help build a secure, ...

released a report compiling human rights abuses in Crimea. In its 2016 annual report, the

made no mention of human rights abuses in Crimea because Russia had not allowed its monitors to enter. In February 2016 human rights defender

Emir-Usein Kuku Emir-Usein Kemalovich Kuku (, born 26 June 1976) is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender and member of the Crimean Human Rights Contact Group. In February 2016, he was arrested and charged by Russian authorities on the accusation that he was a ...

from Crimea was arrested and accused of belonging to the Islamist organization

Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...

although he denies any involvement in this organization.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

has called for his immediate release. On 24 May 2014, Ervin Ibragimov, a former member of the

Bakhchysarai Bakhchysarai is a city in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bakhchysarai Raion (district), as well as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. Its main landmark is Hansaray, the only extant ...

Town Council and a member of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars went missing. CCTV footage from a camera at a nearby shop documents that Ibragimov had been stopped by a group of men and that he is briefly speaking to the men before being forced in their van. According to the

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KhPG) is one of the oldest and most active Ukrainian human rights organizations. As a legal entity, it was established in 1992, but it has been working as a human rights protection group in the Ukrain ...

Russian authorities refuse to investigate the disappearance of Ibragimov. In May 2018

Server Mustafayev Server Rustemovych Mustafayev (, born 5 May 1986) is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender and coordinator of the civil rights organization ''Crimean Solidarity''. Life Mustafayev was born on May 5, 1986, in Ziadin. His family returned to C ...

, the founder and coordinator of the human rights movement Crimean Solidarity was imprisoned by Russian authorities and charged with "membership of a terrorist organisation".

and

Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...

demand his immediate release. On 12 June 2018, Ukraine lodged a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

weighing about 90kg, consisting of 17,500 pages of text in 29 volumes to the UN's

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

about

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...

by Russian authorities in occupied Crimea and state financing of terrorism by Russian Federation in

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

. Between 2015 and 2019 over 134,000 people living in Crimea applied for and were issued Ukrainian passports.

Crimean public opinion

Prior to Russian occupation, support for joining Russia was 23% in a 2013 poll, down from 33% in 2011. A joint survey by American government agency

Broadcasting Board of Governors The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) from 1994 to 2018, is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information for regions of the world wi ...

and polling firm

Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...

was taken during April 2014. It polled 500 residents of Crimea. The survey found that 82.8% of those polled believed that the results of the

Crimean status referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) after Russia ...

reflected the views of most residents of Crimea, whereas 6.7% said that it did not. 73.9% of those polled said that they thought that the annexation would have a positive impact on their lives, whereas 5.5% said that it would not. 13.6% said that they did not know. A comprehensive poll released on 8 May 2014 by the

Pew Research Centre The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

surveyed local opinions on the annexation. Despite international criticism of 16 March referendum on Crimean status, 91% of those Crimeans polled thought that the vote was free and fair, and 88% said that the Ukrainian government should recognise the results. In a survey completed in 2019 by a Russian company FOM 72% of surveyed Crimean residents said their lives have improved since annexation. At the same time only 39% Russians living in the mainland said the annexation was beneficial for the country as a whole which marks a significant drop from 67% in 2015. Whilst the Russian government actively cited local opinion polls to argue that the annexation was legitimate (i.e. supported by the population of the territory in question), some authors have cautioned against using surveys concerning identities and support for the annexation conducted in "oppressive political environment" of Russian-held Crimea.

Ukrainian response

Immediately after the treaty of accession was signed in March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Provisional Principal of Russia in Ukraine to present ''

note verbale Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened vers ...

'' of protest against Russia's recognition of the Republic of Crimea and its subsequent annexation. Two days later, the

condemned the treaty and called Russia's actions "a gross violation of

". The Rada called on the international community to avoid recognition of the "so-called Republic of Crimea" or the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia as new federal subjects. On 15 April 2014, the Verkhovna Rada declared the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to be under "provisional occupation" by the Russian military and imposed travel restrictions on Ukrainians visiting Crimea. The territories were also deemed "inalienable parts of Ukraine" subject to Ukrainian law. Among other things, the special law approved by the Rada restricted foreign citizens' movements to and from the Crimean Peninsula and forbade certain types of entrepreneurship. The law also forbade activity of government bodies formed in violation of Ukrainian law and designated their acts as

null and void In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ''ab initio'', which means " ...

Ukrainian authorities greatly reduced the volume of water flowing into Crimea via the

due to huge debt for water supplied in the previous year, threatening the viability of the peninsula's agricultural crops, which are heavily dependent on irrigation. The Ukrainian National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting instructed all cable operators on 11 March 2014 to stop transmitting a number of Russian channels, including the international versions of the main state-controlled stations,

Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

, Channel One and

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...

, as well as news channel

Russia-24 Russia-24 () is a state-owned Russian-language news channel from Russia. It covers major national and international events and focuses on domestic issues. It is owned by VGTRK. History The broadcast began July 1, 2006 in Russia, February 7, 20 ...

. In March 2014, activists began organising

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organize ...

s in supermarkets to urge customers not to buy Russian goods and to boycott Russian

gas stations A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

, banks, and concerts. In April 2014, some

cinemas A movie theater (American English) or cinema (Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing fi ...

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

began shunning Russian films. On 2 December 2014, Ukraine created a Ministry of Information Policy, with one of its goals being, according to first Minister of Information, Yuriy Stets, to counteract "Russian information aggression". In December 2014, Ukraine halted all train and bus services to Crimea. On 16 September 2015, the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...

voted for the law that sets 20 February 2014 as the official date of the Russian temporary occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. On 7 October 2015, the

signed the law into force. The

Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

was established by the Ukrainian government on 20 April 2016 to manage occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea regions affected by Russian military intervention of 2014.The Cabinet decided to create the Ministry of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons
''

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

'' (20 April 2016) By 2015, the number of

IDPs An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...

registered in Ukraine who had fled from Russian-occupied Crimea was 50,000.

Russian response

In a poll published on 24 February 2014 by the state-owned

Russian Public Opinion Research Center Russian Public Opinion Research Center (, , VCIOM) is a State ownership, state-owned List of polling organizations, polling institution established in 1987, known as the All-Union Center for the Study of Public Opinion until 1992. VCIOM is the o ...

, only 15% of those Russians polled said 'yes' to the question: "Should Russia react to the overthrow of the legally elected authorities in Ukraine?" The

Committee on

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

Affairs, headed by Leonid Slutsky, visited

on 25 February 2014 and said: "If the parliament of the Crimean autonomy or its residents express the wish to join the Russian Federation, Russia will be prepared to consider this sort of application. We will be examining the situation and doing so fast". They also stated that in the event of a

for the Crimea region joining the Russian Federation, they would consider its results "very fast". Later Slutsky announced that he was misunderstood by the Crimean press, and no decision regarding simplifying the process of acquiring Russian citizenship for people in Crimea had been made yet. He also added that if "fellow Russian citizens are in jeopardy, you understand that we do not stay away". On 25 February, in a meeting with Crimean politicians, he stated that Viktor Yanukovych was still the legitimate president of Ukraine. That same day, the Russian Duma announced it was determining measures so that

Russians in Ukraine Russians constitute the country's largest ethnic minority in Ukraine. This community forms the largest single Russian community outside of Russia in the world. In the 2001 Ukrainian census, 8,334,100 identified themselves as ethnic Russians (17. ...

who "did not want to break from the

Russian World The "Russian world" () is a concept and a political doctrine usually defined as the sphere of military, political and cultural influence of Russia. It is a vague term, mostly used to refer to communities with a historical, cultural, or spirit ...

" could acquire Russian citizenship. On 26 February, Russian president

ordered the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

to be "put on alert in the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

as well as units stationed with the 2nd Army

Central Military District The Order of the Red Banner Central Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the centr ...

Command involved in aerospace defence, airborne troops and long-range military transport". Despite media speculation that this was in reaction to the events in Ukraine, Russian

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served a ...

said it was for reasons separate from the unrest in Ukraine. On 27 February 2014, the Russian government dismissed accusations that it was in violation of the basic agreements regarding the

: "All movements of armored vehicles are undertaken in full compliance with the basic agreements and did not require any approvals". On 27 February, the Russian governing agencies presented the new law project on granting citizenship. The

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...

called on the West and particularly

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

to "abandon the provocative statements and respect the neutral status of Ukraine". In its statement, the ministry claims that the agreement on settlement of the crisis, which was signed on 21 February and was witnessed by foreign ministries from Germany, Poland and France had to this date, not been implemented (

from Russia had not signed it). On 28 February, according to

ITAR-TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

, the

Russian Ministry of Transport The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation () is a ministry of the Government of Russia responsible for transportation. The Ministry of Transport oversees road transport, railroads, commercial aviation, sea transport, inland waterway ...

discontinued further talks with Ukraine in regards to the

project. However, on 3 March

, then

Prime Minister of Russia The prime minister of the Russian Federation, also domestically stylized as the chairman of the government of the Russian Federation and widely recognized as the prime minister, is the head of government of Russia and the second highest ranking ...

, signed a

creating a subsidiary of Russian Highways (

Avtodor BC Avtodor (), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the VTB United League, the highest level of Russian basketball. In early 2022, after ...

) to build a bridge at an unspecified location along the

. On Russian social networks, there was a movement to gather volunteers who served in the Russian army to go to Ukraine. Many political researchers consider that after the annexation a social period in Russia coined as " Crimean consensus" begun, during which the " Rally 'round the flag" effect was observed in the population. On 28 February, President Putin stated in telephone calls with key EU leaders that it was of "extreme importance of not allowing a further escalation of violence and the necessity of a rapid normalisation of the situation in Ukraine". Already on 19 February the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had referred to the Euromaidan revolution as the "

Brown revolution The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

". In Moscow, on 2 March, an estimated 27,000 rallied in support of the Russian government's decision to intervene in Ukraine. The rallies received considerable attention on Russian state TV and were officially approved by the government. Meanwhile, on 1 March, five people who were picketing next to the Federation Council building against the invasion of Ukraine were arrested. The next day about 200 people protested at the building of the Russian Ministry of Defence in Moscow against Russian military involvement. About 500 people also gathered to protest on the Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, and the same number of people on the

Saint Isaac's Square Saint Isaac's Square or Isaakiyevskaya Ploshchad (), known as Vorovsky Square () between 1923 and 1944, in Saint Petersburg, Russia is a major city square sprawling between the Mariinsky Palace and Saint Isaac's Cathedral, which separates it fr ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. On 2 March, about eleven protesters demonstrated in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

against Russian involvement, with some wrapped in the Ukrainian flag. Protests were also held in

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

on the same day. Opposition to the military intervention was also expressed by rock musician

Andrey Makarevich Andrey Vadimovich Makarevich (; born 11 December 1953) is an Israeli and Soviet-Russian rock musician and the founder of Russia's oldest still active rock band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine). Personal life Makarevich was born in Moscow to m ...

, who wrote in particular: "You want war with Ukraine? It will not be the way Russo-Georgian war, it was with Abkhazia: the folks on the Maidan have been hardened and know what they are fighting for – for their country, their independence. ... We have to live with them. Still neighborly. And preferably in friendship. But it's up to them how they want to live". The Professor of the Department of Philosophy at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Andrey Zubov was fired for his article in ''Vedomosti'', criticising Russian military intervention. On 2 March, one Moscow resident protested against Russian intervention by holding a "Stop the war" banner, but he was immediately harassed by passers-by. Police then proceeded to arrest him. A woman came forward with a fabricated charge against him, of beating up a child; however, her claim, due to lack of a victim and obviously false, was ignored by the police. Andrei Zubov, a professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, who compared Russian actions in Crimea to the 1938 Annexation of Austria by

, was threatened. Alexander Chuyev, the leader of the pro-Kremlin A Just Russia – For Truth, Spravedlivaya Rossiya party, also objected to Russian intervention in Ukraine. Boris Akunin, a popular Russian writer, predicted that Russia's moves would lead to political and economic isolation. President Putin's approval rating among the Russian public increased by nearly 10% since the crisis began, up to 71.6%, the highest in three years, according to a poll conducted by the VTSIOM, All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, released on 19 March. Additionally, the same poll showed that more than 90% of Russians supported unification with the Crimean Republic. According to a 2021 study in the ''American Political Science Review'', "three quarters of those who rallied to Putin after Russia annexed Crimea were engaging in at least some form of dissembling and that this rallying developed as a rapid cascade, with social media joining television in fueling perceptions this was socially desirable". On 4 March, at a press conference in Novo-Ogaryovo, President Putin expressed his view on the situation that if a revolution took place in Ukraine, it would be a new country with which Russia had not concluded any treaties. He offered an analogy with the events of 1917 in Russia, when as a result of the revolution the

fell apart and a new state was created. However, he stated Ukraine would still have to honour its debts. Russian politicians speculated that there were already 143,000 Ukrainian refugees in Russia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted those claims of refugee increases in Russia. At a briefing on 4 March 2014, the director of the department of information policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebiynis said that Russia was misinforming its own citizens as well as the entire international community to justify its own actions in the Crimea. On 5 March, an anchor of the Russian-controlled TV channel RT America, Abby Martin (journalist), Abby Martin, criticized her employer's biased coverage of the military invervention. Also on 5 March 2014, another RT America anchor, Liz Wahl, of the network's Washington, DC bureau, resigned on air, explaining that she could not be "part of a network that whitewashes the actions of Putin" and citing her Hungarian ancestry and the memory of the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Hungarian Uprising as a factor in her decision. In early March, Igor Andreyev, a 75-year-old survivor of the Siege of Leningrad, attended an anti-war rally against the Russian intervention in Crimea and was holding a sign that read "Peace to the World". The riot police arrested him, and a local pro-government lawyer then accused him of being a supporter of "fascism". The retiree, who lived on a 6,500-ruble monthly pension, was fined 10,000 rubles. Prominent dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky said that Crimea should stay within Ukraine with broader autonomy. Tatarstan, a republic within Russia populated by Volga Tatars, has sought to alleviate concerns about the treatment of Tatars by Russia, as Tatarstan is an oil-rich and economically successful republic in Russia. On 5 March, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov signed an agreement on co-operation between Tatarstan and the Aksyonov government in Crimea that implied collaboration between ten government institutions as well as significant financial aid to Crimea from Tatarstan businesses. On 11 March, Minnikhanov was in Crimea on his second visit and attended as a guest in the Crimean parliament chamber during the vote on the declaration of sovereignty pending 16 March referendum. The Tatarstan's Mufti Kamil Samigullin invited Crimean Tatars to study in madrasas in Kazan, and declared support for their "brothers in faith and blood".

, a former leader of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Crimean Tatar Majlis, believed that forces that were suspected to be Russian forces should leave the Crimean Peninsula, and asked the United Nations Security Council, UN Security Council to send peacekeepers into the region. On 15 March, thousands of protesters (estimates varying from 3,000 by official sources up to 50,000 claimed by the opposition) in Moscow marched against Russian involvement in Ukraine, many waving Ukrainian flags. At the same time, a pro-government (and pro-referendum) rally occurred across the street, counting in the thousands as well (officials claiming 27,000 with the opposition claiming about 10,000). In February 2015, the leading independent Russian newspaper obtained documents, allegedly written by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev and others, which provided the Russian government with a strategy in the event of Viktor Yanukovych's removal from power and the break-up of Ukraine, which were considered likely. The documents outline plans for annexation of Crimea and the eastern portions of the country, closely describing the events that actually followed after Yanukovych's fall. The documents also describe plans for a public relations campaign that would seek to justify Russian actions. In June 2015 Mikhail Kasyanov stated that all Russian Duma decisions on Crimea annexation were illegal from the international point of view and the annexation was provoked by false accusations of discrimination of Russian nationals in Ukraine. As of January 2019, Arkady Rotenberg through his Stroygazmontazh, Stroygazmontazh LLC and his companies building the

along with Nikolai Shamalov and Yuri Kovalchuk through their Rossiya Bank have become the most important investors in Russia's development of the annexed Crimea.

International response

There has been a range of international reactions to the annexation. In March 2014, the

passed a non-binding resolution 100 in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation assembly that declared Crimea's Moscow-backed referendum invalid. In a move supported by the Lithuanian president, the United States government imposed sanctions against persons they deem to have violated or assisted in the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. The European Union suspended talks with Russia on economic and visa-related matters, and is considering more stringent sanctions against Russia in the near future, including asset freezes. while Japan announced sanctions which include suspension of talks relating to military, space, investment, and visa requirements. The United Kingdom qualified the referendum vote in Crimea of being "farcical", "illegal" and "illegitimate". Ukraine and other countries claim that Russia has signed a number of treaties guaranteeing Ukrainian territorial integrity. These include the 1991 Belavezha Accords that established the

, the 1975 Helsinki Accords, the 1994

and the 1997 Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet, Treaty on friendship, cooperation and partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The European Commission decided on 11 March 2014 to enter into a full free-trade agreement with Ukraine within the year. On 12 March, the European Parliament rejected the upcoming referendum on independence in Crimea, which they saw as manipulated and contrary to international and Ukrainian law. The G7 bloc of developed nations (the G8 minus Russia) made a joint statement condemning Russia and announced that they would suspend preparations for 40th G8 summit, the planned G8 summit in Sochi in June. NATO condemned Russia's military escalation in Crimea and stated that it was a breach of international law while the

expressed its full support for the territorial integrity and national unity of Ukraine. The Visegrád Group has issued a joint statement urging Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and for Ukraine to take into account its minority groups to not further break fragile relations. It has urged for Russia to respect Ukrainian and international law and in line with the provisions of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. China said "We respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine". A spokesman restated China's belief of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations and urged dialogue. The Indian government called for a peaceful resolution of the situation. Both Syria and Venezuela openly support Russian military action. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said that he supports Putin's efforts to "restore security and stability in the friendly country of Ukraine", while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned Ukraine's "ultra-nationalist" coup. Sri Lanka described Yanukovych's removal as unconstitutional and considered Russia's concerns in Crimea as justified. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk called for a change in EU energy policy as Germany's dependence on Russian gas poses risks for Europe. On 13 March 2014, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the Russian government it risks massive damage to Russia, economically and politically, if it refuses to change course on Ukraine, though close economic links between Germany and Russia significantly reduce the scope for any sanctions. After Russia moved to formally incorporate Crimea, some worried whether it may do the same in other regions. US deputy national security advisor Tony Blinken said that the Russian troops massed on the eastern Ukrainian border may be preparing to enter the country's eastern regions. Russian officials stated that Russian troops would not enter other areas. US Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, warned that the same troops were in a position to take over the separatist Russian-speaking Moldovan province of Transnistria. President of Moldova Nicolae Timofti warned Russia with not attempting to do this to avoid damaging its international status further. On 9 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe deprived Russia of voting rights. On 14 August, while visiting Crimea, Vladimir Putin ruled out pushing beyond Crimea. He undertook to do everything he could to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying Russia needed to build calmly and with dignity, not by confrontation and war which isolated it from the rest of the world.

United Nations resolutions

On 15 March 2014, a US-sponsored resolution that went to a vote in the United Nations, UN United Nations Security Council, Security Council to reaffirm that council's commitment to Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity" was not approved. Though a total of 13 council members voted in favour of the resolution and China abstained, Russia vetoed the resolution. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution describing the 2014 Crimean referendum, referendum leading to annexation of Crimea by Russia as illegal. The draft resolution, which was titled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine", was co-sponsored by Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the US. It affirmed the council's commitment to the "sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders". The resolution tried to underscore that 16 March referendum held in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol has no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol. The resolution got 100 votes in its favour, while 11 nations voted against and 58 countries abstained from the vote. The resolution was non-binding and the vote was largely symbolic. Since 2014, the UN General Assembly has voted several times, most recently in December 2019, to affirm Ukraine's territorial integrity, condemn the 'temporary occupation' of Crimea, and reaffirm nonrecognition of its annexation.Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
on 18 December 2019], UN General Assembly

International recognition

Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Sudan, Syria, and Zimbabwe have recognised the result of the 2014 Crimean status referendum, 2014 referendum in Crimea. Four List of states with limited recognition, non-UN member states recognised the results of the referendum:

, Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh and Transnistria. The Transnistrian foreign minister, Nina Shtanski, recognized Crimea's annexation by Russia. Transnistria sent a request on 18 March 2014 Proposed Russian annexation of Transnistria, to join the Russian Federation following the Crimean example and in compliance with the Admission Law provisions. The regional councils of Italy's northern regions Lombardy, Liguria and Veneto adopted a non-binding resolution on recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, but they revoked it in 2022 after 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Sanctions

{{Further, International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War, List of people and organizations sanctioned during the Russo-Ukrainian War Ukrainian checkpoint for the de facto border between Kherson and Russian-occupied Crimea

Ukrainian checkpoint for the de facto border between Kherson and Russian-occupied Crimea

Sanctions were imposed to prevent officials and politicians from travelling to Canada, the United States, or the European Union. They were the most wide-ranging applied to Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. {{cite news , author=Rakteem Katakey , date=25 March 2014 , title=Russian Oil Seen Heading East Not West in Crimea Spat , url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-25/russian-oil-seen-heading-east-not-west-in-crimea-spat , publisher=Bloomberg , access-date=2 January 2016 *{{cite web, url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20140320_33.aspx, title=Ukraine-related Designations: Specially Designated Nationals List Update , work=US Department of the Treasury , date=20 March 2014 , access-date=27 February 2016 *{{cite web , url=https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN-List/Pages/default.aspx , title=Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) , work=US Department of the Treasury, date=16 February 2016 , access-date=27 February 2016 *{{cite news, title=Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members of the Russian Leadership's Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement in the Situation in Ukraine , url=http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl23331.aspx , work=United States Treasury Department, date=20 March 2014 , access-date=20 March 2014{{cite web , author=Peter Shuklinov , script-title=ru:Ближний круг Путина: кто попал в новый список санкций США , trans-title=Putin's inner circle: who's in the new list of US sanctions, url=https://news.liga.net/articles/politics/1066761-blizhniy_krug_putina_kto_popal_v_novyy_spisok_sanktsiy_ssha.htm, website=liga.net, language=ru , date=21 March 2014, access-date=20 February 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207152258/http://news.liga.net/articles/politics/1066761-blizhniy_krug_putina_kto_popal_v_novyy_spisok_sanktsiy_ssha.htm, archive-date=7 February 2015 Japan announced milder sanctions than the US and EU. These include suspension of talks relating to military, space, investment, and visa requirements. In response to the sanctions introduced by the US and EU, the State Duma, Russian Duma unanimously passed a resolution asking for all members of the Duma to be included on the sanctions list. Head of the A Just Russia, Just Russia party Sergei Mironov said he was proud of being included on the sanctions list: "It is with pride that I have found myself on the black list, this means they have noticed my stance on Crimea". Russian companies started pulling billions of dollars out of Western banks to avoid having their asset frozen. {{cite news , author1=Patrick Jenkins, author2=Daniel Schäfer, author3=Courtney Weaver , author4=Jack Farchy , date=14 March 2014 , title=Russian companies withdraw billions from west, say Moscow bankers , url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ffea2660-ab9e-11e3-aad9-00144feab7de.html , newspaper=Financial Times , access-date=27 March 2014 , url-access=subscription Three days after the lists were published, the Foreign Ministry of Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, which consisted of 10 names, including Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, House Speaker John Boehner, Senator John McCain, and two advisers to President Obama. The ministry said in a statement: "We have repeatedly warned that sanctions are a double-edged instrument and would hit the United States like a boomerang". Several of those sanctioned responded with pride at their inclusion on the list, including John Boehner, {{cite news , author1=Wesley Lowery , author2=Ed O'Keefe , title=Reacting to sanctions, Russians ban Reid, Boehner and four other lawmakers, url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news`wmakers/, newspaper=The Washington Post, date=20 March 2014, access-date=2 January 2016 John McCain, Bob Menendez, Dan Coats, Mary Landrieu, and Harry Reid. On 24 March, Russia imposed retaliatory sanctions on 13 Canadian officials including members of the Parliament of Canada, {{cite news , author=Steven Chase , url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/russia-bans-entry-to-13-canadians-in-retaliation-for-ottawas-sanctions/article17635115/, title=Russia imposes sanctions on 13 Canadians, including MPs, newspaper=The Globe and Mail , date=24 March 2014 , access-date=2 January 2016 banning them from entering Russia. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (Canadian politician), John Baird, said the sanctions were "a badge of honour". Former Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler also said that he considered the sanctions a badge of honour, not a mark of exclusion. "The good news is that so far, Russia has shown no inclination to use the Northern Distribution Network as leverage in the wake of US retaliation for its troop movements in Crimea". Expanded Western sanctions in mid-March coursed through financial markets, hitting the business interests of some of Russia's richest people.{{cite news, author1=Jack Farchy, author2=Neil Hume, date=21 March 2014, title=Russian share prices drop as sanctions bite, url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ffba124-b0d6-11e3-9f6f-00144feab7de.html, work=Financial Times, access-date=21 March 2014, url-access=subscription The Americans centred on the heart of Moscow's leadership, though the EU's initial list shied from targeting Putin's inner circle. As ratings agencies Fitch Ratings, Fitch and Standard & Poor's downgraded Russia's credit outlook,{{cite news, author=Olga Tanas, date=21 March 2014, title=Russia's Credit Outlook Cut as U.S., EU Widen Sanction Lists, url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-20/russia-outlook-cut-to-negative-by-s-p-as-obama-widens-sanctions, publisher=Bloomberg L.P., access-date=2 January 2016 Russian banks warned of a sanctions-induced recession, the country braced for capital outflows for the first three months of 2014 to reach $70{{spacesbillion, more than the entirety of outflows for 2013, and Russian government-bond issues plummeted by three-quarters compared with the same period the previous year. Novatek, Russia's second-largest gas producer, saw $2.5bn in market value wiped out when its shares sank by nearly 10%, rendering Putin's close friend Gennady Timchenko, who has a 23% stake in the company, $575m poorer. "I do hope that there is some serious diplomatic activity going on behind the scenes," said one Russian banker, though others were more sanguine on the question of whether the sanctions would have any enduring effect, and Russians, top and bottom, seemed defiant. The official Russian response was mixed. The then Ministry of Economic Development (Russia), Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Alexey Ulyukaev said that introduction of sectoral sanctions will lead to a serious decline of the Russian economy: economic growth of Russia will become seriously negative, the growth of volumes of investment will be even more negative, inflation will rise, and government revenues and reserves will go down. As well as differences between the United States and Europe as a whole as to how to respond to the Russian-backed incursion, those same differences have played out among Eastern European countries. A number of Russian citizens reported that they have been denied European visas after they visited Crimea after annexation. A Russian consumer protection watchdog OZPP published a warning for Russian tourists about this risk, explaining that from the international law point of view, Crimea is an occupied territory, after which Roskomnadzor blocked the OZPP website "for threatening territorial integrity of Russian Federation". In response to having its voting rights revoked, Russia in June 2017 suspended its budget payments to the

, with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, Sergei Lavrov stating payments would not resume until all rights of Russia's delegation were fully restored. Council Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has suggested lifting the sanctions to avoid the impact of mounting budgetary restraints. However, Council members such as Ukraine and its supporters have argued that readmitting Russia without demanding concessions in return would amount to "caving to Russian 'blackmail'".

Mapping

{{further, Cartographic aggression Map of Russia

* The

maps Crimea as belonging to Ukraine. * National Geographic Society stated that their policy is "to portray current reality" and "Crimea, if it is formally annexed by Russia, would be shaded gray", but also further remarked that this step does not suggest recognising the legitimacy of such. As of April 2014, Crimea was still displayed as part of Ukraine.{{cite web, url=https://hi-tech.mail.ru/news/new-krym-maps/, script-title=ru:Крым на картах мира: ситуация поменялась, trans-title=Crimea on maps of the world: the situation has changed, language=ru, website=hi-tech.mail.ru, date=11 April 2014, access-date=2 January 2016 * {{As of, April 2014, Google Maps displays Crimea as a disputed territory to most viewers. For the Russian and Ukrainian versions of the website, Crimea is marked as belonging to the corresponding country (Russia or Ukraine respectively). Google stated that it "work(s) with sources to get the best interpretation of the border or claim lines". * Yandex displays Crimea as part of Russia for .ru and .com domains since the end of March 2014. According to the official statement, the company works with users from different countries and "displays reality that surrounds them". * {{As of, March 2014, Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap and Here (company), HERE displayed Crimea as belonging to Ukraine. In particular, OpenStreetMap requested its users to refrain from editing borders and administrative relations of subdivisions located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol until 31 May 2014. On 5 June 2014, OpenStreetMap switched to a territorial dispute option, displaying Crimea as a disputed territory belonging to both countries. * In 2015, on the PepsiCo website, a Russian-language map was visible for a few days that depicted Crimea as a part of Russia. * The 2016 edition of a French atlas published by Éditions Larousse, Larousse shows Crimea as part of Russian territory: Oleh Shamshur, Ukrainian Ambassador to France, expressed shock. Shortly after, Larousse changed the map to reflect Crimea as part of Ukraine on the Atlas on their internet version. * The Italian-language magazine of geopolitics ''Limes (Italian magazine), Limes'' maps Crimea as a part of Russia since December 2015. Following protests from the Ukrainian embassy in Italy, the magazine editor Lucio Caracciolo wrote that "the map reflects reality. When Crimea and Sevastopol will be back under effective Ukrainian sovereignty, we will produce a map that reflects such reality". * The Russian version of Apple's App Store began to show Crimea as part of Russia on 27 November 2019.

Analysis

Researchers consider the subsequent annexation of Crimea to be a Coup d'état, coup, because the Russian military seized Crimea's parliament and government buildings and instigated the replacement of its government with Russian proxies. In particular, political scientist Olga Burlyuk defines Crimea events as "a coup d’état of a regional scale".{{Cite book, last1=Hamid, first1=Linda, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7LMTEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22a+coup+d%E2%80%99%C3%A9tat+of+a+regional+scale%22&pg=PA73, title=Rule of Law and Areas of Limited Statehood: Domestic and International Dimensions, last2=Wouters, first2=Jan, date=2021-01-29, publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing, isbn=978-1-78897-904-7, pages=73

Notes

{{NoteFoot

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{Sister project links , b=no, commons=Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, d=yes, m=no, mw=no, n= no, q=yes, s=Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia , v=no, voy=no, wikt=no
A treaty of accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation. Unofficial English translation with commentary
{dead link , date=March 2025

(video 11:21), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, REF/RL, 26 February 2016 (in Russian, subtitles in English) {{Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation {{Irredentism {{Russian intervention in Ukraine {{Russian invasion of Ukraine {{Politics of Ukraine footer {{Territorial disputes in Europe {{Authority control Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Russian occupation of Ukraine, Crimea 2014 controversies 2014 in Russia 2014 in Ukraine 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Conflicts in 2014 Conflicts in Ukraine Political history of Crimea Territorial disputes of Russia, Crimea Territorial disputes of Ukraine Territorial evolution of Russia 21st-century military history of Russia Military history of Ukraine Modern history of Ukraine Political scandals in Ukraine Riots and civil disorder in Ukraine Russian irredentism Russian nationalism in Ukraine Russia–Ukraine relations Russification Separatism in Ukraine Treaties concluded in 2014 Treaties entered into force in 2014 Treaties of Russia Articles containing video clips February 2014 in Europe March 2014 in Europe February 2014 in Russia March 2014 in Russia February 2014 in Ukraine March 2014 in Ukraine Military operations involving Russia Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russo-Ukrainian War, * Russian intelligence operations Human shield incidents 21st-century military history of Ukraine Military history of Crimea

Other names

In Ukraine

In Russia

Background

Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity

Annexation

Russian invasion of Crimea

Russian takeover

Legal issues

Crimean status referendum

Proclamations of independence of the Republic of Crimea

Accession treaty and finalization of the annexation

Occupation

Transition and aftermath

Economic implications

Human rights situation

Crimean public opinion

Ukrainian response

Russian response

International response

United Nations resolutions

International recognition

Sanctions

Mapping

Analysis

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links