On 27 February 2014, the Crimean Verkhovna Rada 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 ...

was taken over by unmarked Russian soldiers. It was among the events that triggered 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 ...

and laid the foundation for Crimea's annexation three weeks later. The Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine's

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, A few hours into the takeover,

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 ...

replaced the

Prime Minister of Crimea The chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea (prime minister of Crimea), is the head of government of the Republic of Crimea (previously the Autonomous Republic of Crimea located in the southern region of Ukraine). Unti ...

, removing Ukrainian politician Anatolii Mohyliov and installing Russian politician

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 ...

in his stead.

Background

In February 2014, following the

2014 Ukrainian revolution 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 the

Ukrainian President 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. ...

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 ...

, the Russian leadership decided to "start working on returning Crimea to Russia" On February 25, a pro-Russian rally 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 ...

and

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly 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 borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

organizations was held outside the building of the Crimean Verkhovna Rada. The protesters shouted pro-Russian slogans and demanded separation from Ukraine by holding a referendum. Before the protesters came the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC Volodymyr Konstantinov, announcing the extraordinary session of February 26. The media reported that a question about the withdrawal of the Crimea from Ukraine could be put to the session, but Konstantinov denied such rumors, calling it the provocation of the "Makeevka team in the Crimean government". On February 26, two events took place in parallel by the walls of the ARC Verkhovna Rada: a pro-Ukrainian rally organized by the

Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People () is the single highest executive-representative body of the Crimean Tatars in period between sessions of the Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People. The Mejlis is a member institution of the Platform of E ...

, which gathered up to ten thousand participants, and a pro-Russian rally of about 700 people, initiated by the "Rus unity" party. Due to unsatisfactory security measures taken by law enforcement officers, there were fights between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian rally participants, resulting in the death of two people of the pro-Russian rally. The pro-Russian rally was pushed to the inner court of the Crimean Verkhovna Rada, and scheduled the day before parliament's session was canceled.

Events

On the morning of February 27, around 4:30, two groups of 10–15 armed men in military uniform without insignia entered the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea and took control of it. Immediately after the capture, the attackers were barricaded indoors, having previously removed a small number of staff. Crimean People's Deputy from the

UDAR The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine headed by retired

Serhiy Kunitsyn said that the building was captured by 120 highly trained personnel who had a large arsenal of weapons, including automatic weapons, machine guns and grenade launchers, which would allow them to defend themselves for a long time. Persons who seized the building described themselves as self-defense activists for Russian-speaking citizens of Crimea, although the Mejlis leader,

Refat Chubarov Refat Abdurahman oglu Chubarov (born 22 September 1957) is a Crimean politician and public figure, leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement in Ukraine and worldwide. Biography Chubarov was born on 22 September 1957 in Samarkand, Uzbek S ...

, said that Russian people were in charge of these people; later it became clear that the operation was orchestrated by Russian special forces. At 8:30, the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Crimea Anatolii Mohyliov appealed to the inhabitants of Crimea, informing them of the capture of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC by unknown persons numbering about 50. At 9 o'clock Anatolii Mohyliov announced talks, but they did not have any result, because, according to Mohyliov, the unknown people refused to speak.

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 ...

, the then-head of the SBU, believed that there was no forceful capture of the ARC Verkhovna Rada, as the local Crimean authorities, including the police, voluntarily transferred control over the building and weapons. /ref>

References

External links

Chronology of events that took place under the walls of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC on February 26, 2014, restored per minute
// "The Crimean Prosecutor's Office", 02/26/2018

Chubarov: "A year ago we were sure that the Crimea had been saved"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crimean Parliament, Capture of 2014 in Ukraine Attacks in Europe in 2014 Attacks on legislatures in Europe History of Simferopol Attacks on buildings and structures in Crimea Attacks on buildings and structures in 2014 Attacks on government buildings and structures in Ukraine Battles and conflicts without fatalities Battles of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Battles in 2014

Background

Events

See also

References

External links