Russian occupation of Crimea

{{Short description|none}} {{pp|small=yes}} {{use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{distinguish|text=the disputed Russian annexation of Crimea, which took place a few weeks after the occupation began}} {{Infobox settlement | image_skyline = 2014-03-09 - Perevalne military base - 0162.JPG | settlement_type = Military occupation | image_flag = Flag of Crimea (Latest version).svg | flag_link = Flag of Crimea | image_shield = Emblem of Crimea.svg | image_map = Russian Occupation of Crimea.svg | subdivision_type = Occupied country | subdivision_name = {{UKR}} | subdivision_type1 = Occupying power | subdivision_name1 = {{RUS}} | subdivision_type2 = Russian-installed occupation regime | established_date = 27 February 2014 | seat_type = Administrative centre | seat = {{flag|Simferopol}} | seat1_type = Largest settlement | seat1 = Simferopol, Yalta | leader_title1 = Head | leader_name1 = Sergey Aksyonov }}

Since 2014, Russia has occupied the Crimean Peninsula, a part of Ukraine. On 27 February 2014, Russia sent soldiers in unmarked uniforms to Crimea to take control of it, starting the Russo-Ukrainian war. This military occupation paved the way for the Russian annexation of Crimea on 18 March 2014. While the Russian government deems Crimea to be part of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and most of the international community see it as an occupied territory of Ukraine.

The occupation began during Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, which ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Russian special forces, disguised as "Crimean self-defense forces", took control of Crimea's government buildings, surrounded Ukrainian military bases, and blockaded the peninsula. Russia denied involvement at the time,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Baczynska|first1=Gabriela|last2=Toyer|first2=Julien|date=5 March 2014|editor-last=Gutterman|editor-first=Steve|title=Russia says cannot order Crimean 'self-defense' units back to base.|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-lavrov-spain-idUSBREA240NF20140305|website=Reuters}}</ref> but Putin later admitted that they were Russian troops.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Soldatkin|first1=Vladimir|last2=Stamp|first2=David|date=9 March 2014|title=Putin says plan to take Crimea hatched before referendum|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-putin-crimea-idUSKBN0M51DG20150309|work=Reuters|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> A pro-Russian government was installed and a referendum on Crimea's status was held under occupation. According to the Russian-installed authorities, the result was in favour of joining Russia. Russia annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014, re-organizing it as a Russian republic and turning Sevastopol into a Russian federal city.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Affairs |first=Ministry of Foreign |date=2018-03-14 |title=Four years since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea |url=https://www.regjeringen.no/en/historical-archive/solbergs-government/Ministries/ud/news/2018/crimea_annexion/id2593565/ |access-date=2025-08-06 |website=Government.no |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UNDERSTANDING RUSSIA BETTER THROUGH HER HISTORY: SEVASTOPOL, AN ENDURING GEOSTRATEGIC CENTRE OF GRAVITY |url=https://chacr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2016.02-Understanding-Russia-through-History.pdf |website=Government.no}}</ref> Russia also claimed an exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea around Crimea. This zone is three times bigger than the peninsula and holds vast natural gas and oil reserves.<ref name="Broad NYT">{{cite news |last1=Broad |first1=William |title=In Taking Crimea, Putin Gains a Sea of Fuel Reserves |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/world/europe/in-taking-crimea-putin-gains-a-sea-of-fuel-reserves.html |work=The New York Times |date=17 May 2014}}</ref> The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming the "territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders", and the UN considers Crimea to be Russian-occupied.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N18/451/02/PDF/N1845102.pdf?OpenElement|title=ODS HOME PAGE|website=documents-dds-ny.un.org}}</ref>

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of mainland Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has used Crimea as a base from which to attack mainland Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has responded with attacks on Russian forces in Crimea. One of Russia's preconditions for ending the invasion has been the recognition of Russian claims to Crimea, while one of Ukraine's goals is to liberate the territory, by military means if necessary.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |year=2022 |title=Zelenskyi: War started in Donbas and Crimea, it will end there |url=https://www.slovoidilo.ua/2022/08/30/novyna/bezpeka/zelenskyj-vijna-pochalasya-donbasi-ta-krymu-vona-tam-zakinchytsya |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Slovo i Dilo |language=uk |publication-date=30 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=":2b">{{Cite news |last=Oliphant |first=Roland |date=5 October 2022 |title=Ukraine could recapture Crimea as fleeing Russians continue to flounder |work=The Telegraph |publication-date=5 October 2022 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/10/05/ukraine-could-recapture-crimea-fleeing-russians-continue-flounder/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |id=0307-1235}}</ref><ref name=":0b">{{Cite web |year=2022 |title=Ukraine may enter occupied Crimea by late spring, says intelligence chief |url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukraine-may-enter-occupied-crimea-by-late-spring-says-intelligence-chief-50273805.html |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en |publication-date=30 September 2022}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Will Reclaim "Our Land" Crimea: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/will-reclaim-our-land-crimea-ukraine-president-volodymyr-zelensky-3705737 |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=NDTV.com}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title="Our goal is to de-occupy all our territories" – Zelenskyi on the liberation of Crimea |url=https://www.unn.com.ua/uk/news/2011993-nasha-tsil-deokupuvati-vsi-nashi-teritoriyi-zelenskiy-pro-zvilnennya-krimu |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=Інформаційне агентство Українські Національні Новини (УНН). Всі онлайн новини дня в Україні за сьогодні – найсвіжіші, останні, головні. |language=uk}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Give us heavy weapons – Zelensky made a categorical statement about the liberation of Crimea |url=https://24tv.ua/zelenskiy-zayaviv-shho-ukrayina-pragne-deokupuvati-krim_n2239293 |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=24 Канал |date=19 January 2023 |language=uk}}</ref>

The United Nations Human Rights Office stated that Russia has committed serious human rights violations in occupied Crimea.<ref name="OHCHR 10 Years">{{cite web |title=Ten Years of Occupation by the Russian Federation: Human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/ukraine/2024-02-28-OHCHR-Ten-Years-Occupation-Crimea.pdf |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Office |date=28 February 2024}}</ref> This includes severely curbing the right to freedom of speech, assembly and religion; arbitrary arrest and detention; and forced disappearance. Ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatar Muslims have suffered discrimination and repression.<ref name="OHCHR 10 Years"/> Residents who did not accept Russian citizenship lost their right to live and work in Crimea.<ref name="OHCHR 10 Years"/> Russia has also been accused of neo-colonialism by enforced Russification and by settling large numbers of Russians in Crimea and pushing out Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yermakova |first1=Olena |title=The silent Russian colonisation of Crimea |journal=New Eastern Europe |date=August 2021 |url=https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/23/the-silent-russian-colonisation-of-crimea/}}</ref>

==History== ===Russian planning=== thumb|left|Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in March 2014 In early February 2014, as the protests in Ukraine seemed likely to collapse the government, the Kremlin received a strategy paper outlining plans for the occupation and annexation of Crimea.<ref name="Kim">{{cite book |last=Kim |first=Lucian |date=2024 |title=Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=st8JEQAAQBAJ&pg=PT111 |series=Woodrow Wilson Center Series |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-21402-5 |doi=10.7312/kim-21402 |pages=71–73, 117–118}}</ref> The documents said that the Ukrainian government and president Viktor Yanukovych would not last.<ref name="Kim"/> They proposed that Russia should foster separatism in Crimea and other eastern provinces, and should begin work on taking control of them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Novaya Gazeta’s ‘Kremlin Papers’ article: Full text in English |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/1048525-novaya-gazetas-kremlin-papers-article-full-text-in-english.html |work=UNIAN |date=25 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Matthew Schofield|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24780370.html|title=Russian news report: Putin approved Ukraine invasion before Kiev government collapsed|publisher=McClatchy DC|date=21 February 2015|access-date=3 January 2016}}</ref> On 21 February 2014, Ukrainian president Yanukovych secretly fled the capital, and the next day, parliament voted to remove him from office. Russia's leadership was reportedly worried that its Sevastopol Naval Base in Crimea might be at risk under a new Ukrainian government that was committed to closer ties with the West. On 22–23 February 2014, Russian president Vladimir Putin held an all-night meeting with security chiefs to discuss the crisis. At the end of that meeting, Putin said: "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31796226|title=Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot|website=BBC News|date=9 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/09/vladimir-putin-describes-secret-meeting-when-russia-decided-to-seize-crimea|title=Vladimir Putin describes secret meeting when Russia decided to seize Crimea|newspaper=The Guardian|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=9 March 2015|access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref>

Russia took advantage of the uncertainty in Ukraine immediately after the ousting of Yanukovych.<ref>[https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |date=17 February 2022 }}, p. 19, published by RAND Corporation in 2017. "Ukraine's government was in transition following the ouster of Yanukovych. As a result, it did not react to the Russian operation when launched. Russia's task was made relatively easy by the confusion and chaos that generally follows an uprising, such as what happened in Kyiv. Moscow capitalized on the tensions and uncertainty in Crimea, as well as on the inexperience of Ukraine's provisional government. Meeting notes of the discussion among Ukrainian leadership reveal a great deal of anxiety, uncertainty, and unwillingness to take action for fear of escalation."</ref> On 26 February, Putin ordered the Russian Armed Forces to be "put on alert in the Western Military District as well as units stationed with the 2nd Army Central Military District Command involved in aerospace defence, airborne troops and long-range military transport". Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu denied that this was related to events in Ukraine.<ref name="Alpert">{{cite news|last=Alpert|first=Lukas I.|url = https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304709904579406310892324006|title=Russia Orders Military Exercises Amid Ukraine Tension|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=27 February 2014}}</ref>

===Russian military takeover=== thumb|left|Russian soldiers without markings in Simferopol, Crimea, 2 March 2014 Early on 27 February 2014, Russian special forces began to occupy Crimea, wearing unmarked uniforms to hide their origin.<ref name="CrimeanInvasion">{{cite web|title=The Russian Invasion of the Crimean Peninsula 2014–2015|url=https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/RussianInvasionCrimeanPeninsula.pdf|access-date=24 September 2021|publisher=Johns Hopkins University|archive-date=6 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206000517/https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/RussianInvasionCrimeanPeninsula.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DeBenedictis">{{cite book |last1=DeBenedictis |first1=Kent |title=Russian 'Hybrid Warfare' and the Annexation of Crimea |date=2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=140 |quote=During the night of 26–27 February, Russian special forces without insignia departed Sevastopol ... They arrived at the Crimean Rada and Council of Ministers buildings in Simferopol, disarmed the security and took control of the buildings ... Putin later signed a decree designating 27 February as Special Operations Forces Day in Russia.}}</ref> They were referred to as "little green men". The soldiers had set out from the Russian base in Sevastopol and travelled to the capital Simferopol. There, they seized the Crimean parliament building and the Council of Ministers building.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/world/europe/crimea-ukraine.html|title=Gunmen Seize Government Buildings in Crimea|author=Andrew Higgins|author2=Steven Erlanger|work=The New York Times|date=27 February 2014|access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref> Russian flags were raised over them<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-politics/|title=Gunmen seize government buildings in Ukraine's Crimea, raise Russian flag|date=27 February 2014|publisher=CNN|last1=Gumuchian|first1=Marie-Louise|last2=Smith-Spark|first2=Laura|last3=Formanek|first3=Ingrid}}</ref> and barricades were erected.<ref name="LentaBerkut">{{cite web|url=http://lenta.ru/news/2014/02/27/berkut/|title=Бывший СССР: Украина: Украинский депутат объявил о бунте крымского "Беркута"|trans-title=Former USSR: Ukraine: Ukrainian MP announces riot of Crimean "Golden eagle"|website=lenta.ru}}</ref> A military checkpoint, with a Russian flag and Russian military vehicles, was set up on the main highway between Sevastopol and Simferopol.<ref name=globe26>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/tension-in-crimea-as-pro-russia-and-pro-ukraine-groups-stage-competing-rallies/article17110382/#dashboard/follows/|title=Globe in Ukraine: Russian-backed fighters restrict access to Crimean city|work=The Globe and Mail|author=Mark MacKinnon|date=26 February 2014}}</ref>

thumb|Russian soldiers without markings occupying the Crimean parliament building, 1 March 2014 Hours after the takeover began, the Crimean parliament held an emergency session while the armed men occupied the building.<ref name=interfax27feb>{{Cite web|url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/193292.html|title=Number of Crimean deputies present at referendum resolution vote unclear|website=Interfax-Ukraine|date=27 February 2014 |access-date=28 August 2022}}</ref><ref name="reuters13mar">{{Cite news|last=De Carbonnel|first=Alissa|date=13 March 2014|title=RPT-INSIGHT-How the separatists delivered Crimea to Moscow|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-russia-aksyonov-idINL6N0M93AH20140313|access-date=28 November 2020}}</ref> It voted to dismiss the Crimean government, and replace Prime Minister Anatolii Mohyliov with Sergey Aksyonov; a member of the Russian Unity party, which received only 4% of votes in the last election.<ref name=reuters13mar /> Under the Constitution of Ukraine, the prime minister of Crimea is appointed by the Crimean parliament (Supreme Council of Crimea) in consultation with the president of Ukraine.<ref name="Yanu'snewPMC">[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/84850.html Crimean parliament to decide on appointment of autonomous republic's premier on Tuesday], Interfax Ukraine (7 November 2011).</ref><ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/27/7016556/ The new prime minister is the leader of Russian Unity], Ukrayinska Pravda (27 February 2014).</ref> Both Aksyonov and speaker Vladimir Konstantinov stated that they viewed Viktor Yanukovych as the ''de jure'' president of Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lenta.ru/news/2014/02/27/truepresident/|script-title=ru:Крымские власти объявили о подчинении Януковичу|date=28 February 2014|website=lenta.ru|language=ru|trans-title=Crimean authorities declared submission to Yanukovych}}</ref> The parliament also voted to hold a referendum on Crimea's political status, set for 25 May. Historian Andrew Wilson and journalist Luke Harding called this the "Crimean coup".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Andrew |author1-link=Andrew Wilson (historian) |title=Ukraine Crisis: What It Means for the West |date=2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=108–111}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Harding |first1=Luke |title=Crimean coup is payback by Putin for Ukraine's revolution |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/28/vladimir-putin-crimean-coup-russia-ukraine |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2014}}</ref>

The troops had cut all of the building's communications, and took MPs' phones as they entered.<ref name=interfax27feb /><ref name=reuters13mar /> No independent journalists were allowed inside the building while the votes were held.<ref name=reuters13mar /> Some MPs said they were threatened and that votes were cast for them and other MPs, even though they were not in the chamber.<ref name=reuters13mar /> Interfax-Ukraine reported that there was no way to know how many MPs were present, and whether they voted themselves or if someone else used their voting cards.<ref name="IUCR27214">[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/193292.html Number of Crimean deputies present at referendum resolution vote unclear], Interfax-Ukraine (27 February 2014).</ref> The head of parliament's information department, Olha Sulnikova, phoned journalists from inside the building, telling them 61 of the registered 64 deputies had voted for the referendum resolution and 55 for the resolution to dismiss the government.<ref name="IUCR27214" /> These votes were immediately declared illegal by the Ukrainian interim government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://obozrevatel.com/politics/08249-turchinov-izdal-ukaz-o-nezakonnosti-izbraniya-novogo-premera-kryima.htm|script-title=uk:Турчинов издал указ о незаконности избрания нового премьера Крыма|trans-title=Turchynov issued a decree on the illegality of the election of a new prime minister of Crimea|date=1 March 2014|language=uk}}</ref>

Russian FSB colonel Igor Girkin (alias 'Strelkov'), one of the commanders of the soldiers, said in January 2015 that Crimean MPs were held at gunpoint and forced to vote in favor.<ref name="KP11MA2015">{{cite news|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/putins-narrative-on-crimea-annexation-takes-an-evolutionary-leap-383183.html|title=Putin's narrative on Crimea annexation takes an evolutionary leap|work=Kyiv Post|date=11 March 2015|access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref> Girkin said:<blockquote>"Unfortunately I did not see any support from the [Crimean] authorities in Simferopol where I was ... It was militants who collected deputies and forced them to vote. Yes, I was one of the commanders of those militants. I saw that from the inside".<ref>{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Christopher |date=2023 |title=The War Came To Us: Life and Death in Ukraine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOu-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |publisher=Bloomsbury Continuum |isbn=978-1-399-40685-7 |page=121}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Kofman |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |date=9 May 2017 |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1498.html |publisher=RAND Corporation |access-date=18 January 2026 |pages=10–11}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Berkut mans a checkpoint at the entrance to the Crimea Peninsular, March 10, 2014.jpg|thumb|Armed men in ''Berkut'' uniform guarding a checkpoint at Chonhar, on the border of mainland Ukraine and Crimea, 10 March 2014]] The same day, more unmarked troops set up security checkpoints on the Isthmus of Perekop and the Chonhar Peninsula, which separate Crimea from the Ukrainian mainland.<ref name="LentaBerkut" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vizit.ks.ua/news/post_chongar_kontroliruet_krymskij_berkut_podchinennyj_janukovichu/2014-02-27-3148|title=ПОСТ "ЧОНГАР" КОНТРОЛИРУЕТ КРЫМСКИЙ "БЕРКУТ" ПОДЧИНЕННЫЙ ЯНУКОВИЧУ видео) – 27 Февраля 2014 – "Новый Визит" Генический информационный портал|trans-title=POST "CHONGAR" CONTROLS CRIMEAN "BERKUT" SUBJECT TO YANUKOVYCH (video) – 27 February 2014 – "New Visit" Genetic Information Portal|work=vizit.ks.ua|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314131955/http://vizit.ks.ua/news/post_chongar_kontroliruet_krymskij_berkut_podchinennyj_janukovichu/2014-02-27-3148|archive-date=14 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.allcrimea.net/news/2014/2/27/na-chongarskom-perevale-dezhurit-berkut-i-nekie-grazhdanskie-litsa-6025/|script-title=ru:На Чонгарском перешейке дежурит «Беркут» и некие гражданские лица|trans-title="Berkut" and some civilians act as sentries at Chongarsky Isthmus|language=ru|publisher=news.allcrimea.net|date=27 February 2014|access-date=24 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://armyansk.info/news/news-archive/120-2014/4592-pod-armyansk-styanulis-siloviki-iz-berkuta|title=Армянск Информационный – Под Армянск стянулись силовики из "Беркута"|trans-title=Armyansk Informational – Security forces from "Berkut" gathered near Armyansk |author=Армянск Информационный (Armyansk Informational)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lenta.ru/news/2014/02/28/blockpost/|title=Lenta.ru: Бывший СССР: Украина: СМИ сообщили о блокпостах "Беркута" на въездах в Крым|trans-title=Former USSR: Ukraine: media reported about Berkut checkpoints at the entrances to Crimea |website=lenta.ru}}</ref> They were helped 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://informnapalm.org/en/how-ukrainian-berkut-officer-from-russian-ulyanovsk-assaulted-crimean-parliament-back-in-2014/|title=How 'Ukrainian Berkut Officer' from Russian Ulyanovsk Assaulted Crimean Parliament Back in 2014|publisher=InformNapalm|date=9 July 2015|access-date=20 October 2015}}</ref> Within hours, Ukraine had been cut off from Crimea. Ukrainian TV channels became unavailable for Crimean viewers, some replaced with Russian stations. On 29 February, unmarked Russian special forces occupied Crimea's airports and communications centers.<ref name="forceAuth" />

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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mirovalev|first=Mansur|date=1 March 2014|title=Crimea PM Takes Control Of Army, Police And Seeks Russian Help|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/crimea-pm-takes-control-army-police-seeks-russian-help-n41826|access-date=19 June 2021|website=NBC News}}</ref> Putin promptly received authorisation from the Federation Council of Russia for a Russian military intervention in Ukraine until the "political-social situation in the country is normalized".<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 March 2014|title=Federation Council Approves Putin's Request for Troop Deployment in Ukraine|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/03/01/federation-council-approves-putins-request-for-troop-deployment-in-ukraine-a32583|access-date=19 June 2021|website=The Moscow Times}}</ref><ref name="Federation 2014">[http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/1/7016760/ Council of the Federation: Russia may introduce troops into Crimea]. Ukrainska Pravda. 1 March 2014.</ref> Ukraine's prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that Russian military intervention would be the beginning of war.<ref name="forceAuth">{{Cite news |date=1 March 2014 |title=Russian parliament approves use of armed forces in Crimea |publisher=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russian-parliament-approves-use-of-armed-forces-in-crimea/a-17467100 |access-date=24 September 2021 |archive-date=30 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130112024/https://www.dw.com/en/russian-parliament-approves-use-of-armed-forces-in-crimea/a-17467100 |url-status=live }}</ref>

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was held on 2 March 2014 to discuss the crisis. Ukrainian ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said that Russia was committing "an act of aggression against the state of Ukraine". He stated that Russia had broken the Budapest agreement and called on the other signatories to provide the assistance they had agreed to.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia, West trade accusations over Ukraine crisis at U.N. |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/russia-west-trade-accusations-over-ukraine-crisis-at-un-idUSDEEA2100T/ |work=Reuters |date=2 March 2014 |archive-date=2 June 2025 |access-date=27 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602230334/https://www.reuters.com/article/world/russia-west-trade-accusations-over-ukraine-crisis-at-un-idUSDEEA2100T/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin accused the US and EU of "encouraging" the protests that had led to the ousting of Ukrainian president Yanukovych. He denied that Russian forces had invaded Crimea. US Ambassador Samantha Power told the session that Russia had violated Ukraine's sovereignty and called for the "immediate deployment" international monitors from the UN and the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ukraine Tells Russia Invasion Means War |website=Bloomberg News |date=2 March 2014 |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-01/ukraine-tells-russia-troop-entry-means-war-after-putin-approval |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926014117/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-01/ukraine-tells-russia-troop-entry-means-war-after-putin-approval |archive-date=26 September 2018 |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>

[[File:2014_Крим.PNG|thumb|The blockade of military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the capture of Crimea by Russia in February–March 2014]] By 2 March, Russian troops were in full control of Crimea, having deployed from the naval base in Sevastopol and reinforced by troops, armour, and helicopters from mainland Russia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/russian-parliament-approves-use-of-army-in-ukraine/article5739708.ece|title=Russian Parliament approves use of army in Ukraine.|newspaper=The Hindu|date=March 2014|last1=Radyuhin|first1=Vladimir}}</ref><ref name="walker-the-guardian-2014-descend">{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Shaun|date=4 March 2014|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/04/ukraine-crisis-russian-troops-crimea-john-kerry-kiev|title=Russian takeover of Crimea will not descend into war, says Vladimir Putin|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=4 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg-news-2014-request">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-04/russia-calls-ukraine-intervention-legal-citing-yanukovych-letter|title=Russia Stays in Ukraine as Putin Channels Yanukovych Request|first1=Sangwon|last1=Yoon|first2=Daryna|last2=Krasnolutska|first3=Kateryna|last3=Choursina|date=4 March 2014|newspaper=Bloomberg News|access-date=29 August 2014}}</ref> On 3 March they blockaded the Southern Naval Base.

On 4 March, the Ukrainian General Staff said there were Russian units of the 18th Motor Rifle Brigade, 31st Air Assault Brigade and 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade deployed and operating in Crimea, not only Russian Black Sea Fleet personnel, which violated international agreements signed by Ukraine and Russia.<ref name="zsu_henshtab">{{cite news|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/5/7017615/|script-title=uk:Генштаб ЗСУ: у Криму – не лише військові з частин Чорноморського флоту|trans-title=General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: in Crimea&nbsp;– not just soldiers from units of Black Sea Fleet|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|language=uk|date=5 March 2014|access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="zsu_interfax">{{cite news|url=https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/194412.html|date=4 March 2014|access-date=30 December 2014|language=ru|script-title=ru:В Крыму находятся российские военнослужащие не только из частей ЧФ РФ, утверждают в Генштабе ВСУ|trans-title=The Black Sea Fleet are not the only Russian fighting forces to be found in Crimea, says the General Staff of AF of Ukraine}}</ref>

At a press conference on 4 March, president Putin said that Russia had no plans to annex Crimea.<ref name="de">{{Cite report|url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf|title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine|last1=Kofman|first1=Michael|last2=Migacheva|first2=Katya|publisher=RAND Corporation|location=Santa Monica|pages=14–15|last3=Nichiporuk|first3=Brian|last4=Radin|first4=Andrew|last5=Tkacheva|first5=Olesya|last6=Oberholtzer|first6=Jenny|year=2017}}</ref> He also said that it had no plans to invade Ukraine, but that it might intervene if Russians in Ukraine were threatened.<ref name="de"/> This was part of a pattern of public denials of the ongoing Russian military operation.<ref name="de"/>

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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Baczynska|first1=Gabriela|last2=Toyer|first2=Julien|date=5 March 2014|editor-last=Gutterman|editor-first=Steve|title=Russia says cannot order Crimean 'self-defense' units back to base.|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-lavrov-spain-idUSBREA240NF20140305|website=Reuters}}</ref> As late as 17 April, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that there were no "excessive Russian troops" in Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=McCarthy|first1=Tom|last2=Tran|first2=Mark|date=17 April 2014|title=Ukraine crisis: Obama says Russia has 'hand' in 'disruption and chaos'|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/ukraine-diplomats-meet-in-geneva-in-bid-to-ease-crisis-live-coverage|access-date=19 June 2021|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.interfax.ru/russia/362633|script-title=ru:Россия не рассматривает вариант присоединения Крыма к России|trans-title=Russia is not considering the option of annexing Crimea to Russia|date=4 March 2014|work=Interfax|language=ru }}</ref> Putin later acknowledged that he had ordered "work to bring Crimea back into Russia" as early as February.<ref name="revea">{{cite news|title=Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot|work=BBC News|date=9 March 2015|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31796226|access-date=9 March 2015}}<br />{{cite news|last1=Soldatkin|first1=Vladimir|last2=Stamp|first2=David|date=9 March 2014|title=Putin says plan to take Crimea hatched before referendum|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-putin-crimea-idUSKBN0M51DG20150309|work=Reuters|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tass.ru/politika/1111359|script-title=ru:Путин: Россия не планировала присоединять Крым|trans-title=Putin: Russia did not plan to annex Crimea|date=10 April 2014|work=TASS|language=ru }}</ref>

[[File:Medal For the Return of Crimea revers.png|thumb|upright|Medal of the Russian Defense Ministry "For the return of Crimea" ({{Langx|ru|За возвращение Крыма}}), 20 February – 18 March 2014]]

Russia eventually admitted its troops' presence.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 April 2014|title=Путин: наши военные "встали за спиной" самообороны Крыма|trans-title=Putin: our military "stood behind the back" of the self-defense of Crimea|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2014/04/140417_putin_phone_line|access-date=19 June 2021|website=BBC News Russian|language=ru}}</ref> Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country's military actions in Crimea were undertaken by forces of the Black Sea Fleet and were justified by "threat to lives of Crimean civilians" and danger of "takeover of Russian military infrastructure by extremists".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tass.ru/politika/1097051|script-title=ru:Шойгу: действия Минобороны РФ в Крыму были вызваны угрозой жизни мирного населения|trans-title=Shoigu: the actions of the Russian Defense Ministry in Crimea were caused by a threat to the lives of civilians|work=TASS|date=4 April 2014|language=ru}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=June 2021}} Ukraine complained that by increasing its troop presence in Crimea, Russia violated the agreement under which it headquartered its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-politics/1626422-russia_redeploys_ships_of_baltic_and_northern_fleets_to_sevastopol_violates_agreement_with_ukraine_317983.html|title=Russia redeploys ships of Baltic and Northern fleets to Sevastopol, violates agreement with Ukraine|date=3 March 2014|work=Ukrinform|access-date=21 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126044846/http://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-politics/1626422-russia_redeploys_ships_of_baltic_and_northern_fleets_to_sevastopol_violates_agreement_with_ukraine_317983.html|archive-date=26 November 2015}}</ref> and violated the country's sovereignty.<ref name="blogs.telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/charlescrawford/100262865/vladimir-putins-illegal-occupation-of-crimea-is-an-attempt-to-put-europes-borders-up-for-grabs/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310214230/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/charlescrawford/100262865/vladimir-putins-illegal-occupation-of-crimea-is-an-attempt-to-put-europes-borders-up-for-grabs/|archive-date=10 March 2014|author=Charles Crawford|title=Vladimir Putin's illegal occupation of Crimea is an attempt to put Europe's borders up for grabs|date=10 March 2014|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=24 March 2015}}</ref> The United States and United Kingdom accused Russia of breaking the terms of the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, by which Russia, the US, and the UK had reaffirmed their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.<ref name="USStatement">{{cite web|url=http://mfa.gov.ua/en/news-feeds/foreign-offices-news/20572-spilyna-zajava-ukrajini-ta-spoluchenih-shtativ-ameriki|title=Joint Statement by the United States and Ukraine|website=mfa.gov.ua|date=25 March 2014|access-date=24 March 2015|archive-date=19 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419014331/http://mfa.gov.ua/en/news-feeds/foreign-offices-news/20572-spilyna-zajava-ukrajini-ta-spoluchenih-shtativ-ameriki}}</ref> The Russian government said the Budapest Memorandum<ref name="budapest-memorandum">{{Cite web |date=29 March 2022 |title=budapest-memorandum |url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/budapest-memorandum/?version=sixty-minutes/ |access-date=29 March 2022 |website=UaWarExplained.com |language=en}}</ref> did not apply due to "circumstances resulting from the action of internal political or socio-economic factors".<ref>{{cite web|date=20 May 2014|title=Медведев: Россия не гарантирует целостность Украины|trans-title=Medvedev: Russia does not guarantee the integrity of Ukraine|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/rolling_news/2014/05/140520_rn_medvedev_ukraine.shtml|access-date=19 June 2021|website=BBC News Russian|language=ru}}</ref> In March 2015, retired Russian Admiral {{Not translated|Igor Kasatonov|ru}} stated that according to his information the Russian troop deployment in Crimea included six helicopter landings and three landings of an IL-76 with 500 people.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Urbanskaya|first=Tatyana|date=22 February 2018|title=Operation "Crimea is Ours"|url=https://www.unian.info/politics/10017818-operation-crimea-is-ours.html|work=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=13 March 2015|title=Касатонов: Черноморский флот был плацдармом для аннексии Крыма|trans-title=Kasatonov: the Black Sea Fleet was a springboard for the annexation of Crimea|url=https://www.currenttime.tv/a/26899211.html|website=Current Time TV|language=ru}}</ref>

=== Annexation === {{More|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}} [[File:Ukrainian checkpoint for the de facto border between Kherson and Russian-occupied Crimea.jpg|thumb|Ukrainian checkpoint at Kalanchak, entering Kherson Oblast from Russian-occupied Crimea.]] On 16 March 2014, a referendum status of Crimea was held by Russia, where, according to official Russian data, 96.77% of the inhabitants of the (Autonomous) Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol voted for the reunification of the respective territories with the Russian Federation. On 17 March, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Crimea, and on 18 March, in the Georgievsky Hall of the Kremlin, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, together with the self-proclaimed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov and the self-proclaimed life of Sevastopol Aleksei Chalyi, signed the Treaty on the Adoption of the Republic Crimea to Russia. On 21 March, the Federation Council adopted a law on the ratification of the Treaty of 18 March and a law on the formation of new subjects of the federation — the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol, securing the annexation of these regions by Russia.

On 27 March 2014, the United Nations General Assembly supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine, recognizing Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as its integral parts. 100 UN member states out of 194 voted for the relevant resolution. Only 11 countries voted against (Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe), 58 abstained.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 March 2022 |title=General Assembly resolution demands end to Russian offensive in Ukraine |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113152 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=UN News |language=en}}</ref> The forced annexation of Crimea is not recognized by Ukraine,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine never to recognize annexation Crimea by Russia – Yatseniuk |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/906402-ukraine-never-to-recognize-annexation-crimea-by-russia-yatsenyuk.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.unian.info |language=en}}</ref> is not recognized by the UN General Assembly, PACE,<ref>{{Cite web |title=PACE condemns illegal annexation of the Crimea |url=https://khpg.org//en/1397090149 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group}}</ref> OSCE PA, and also contradicts the decision of the Venice Commission, while the Russian authorities interpret it as "the return of Crimea to Russia." According to the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine", the territory of the Crimean Peninsula is considered temporarily occupied territory as a result of Russian occupation.

===2014–2021=== thumb|Russian troops in Crimea, March 2014 thumb|Russian forces during Victory Day in Sevastopol, 2014 On 21 November 2015, segments of the four electricity transmission lines in Ukraine supplying electricity to Crimea were destroyed by Ukrainian activists, causing about 1.6 million people and 150 schools in Crimea to be without power and water supplies to some high buildings to fail. Ukrinterenergo repaired the lines a few days later, as Russia was considering stopping supplies of coal to Ukraine in response.<ref name=osw-20151125>{{cite web |url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2015-11-25/crimea-left-without-power |title=Crimea is left without power |last1=Strzelecki |first1=Jan |author2=Rafał Sadowski |website=Centre for Eastern Studies |date=25 November 2015 |access-date=19 January 2026}}</ref><ref name=bbc-20151122>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34893493 |title=Crimea without power after pylons blown up |work=BBC News |date=22 November 2015 |access-date=19 January 2026}}</ref>

On 8 August 2016, Ukraine reported that Russia had increased its military presence along the demarcation line.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sharkov|first=Damien|url=http://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-reports-russian-military-activity-crimea-border-armored-column-488283|title=Ukraine Reports Russian Military Activity on Crimea Border|work=Newsweek|date=31 July 2016|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> In response to this military buildup Ukraine also deployed more troops and resources closer to the border with Crimea.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kaplan|first=Allison|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/1.736052|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810154629/http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/1.736052|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 August 2016|title=Ukraine prepares for Russian 'attack' by moving troops to the border with Crimea|work=Haaretz|date=9 August 2016|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> The Pentagon has downplayed a Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling Russian troops along the border a regular military exercise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/20/world/pentagon-downplays-talk-russian-troop-buildup-near-ukraine-putin-visits-crimea/|title=pentagon-downplays-talk-russian-troop-buildup-near-ukraine-putin-visits-crimea|website=Japan Times}}</ref> 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 40{{spaces}}kg of explosives in their possession.<ref>{{cite news|author=Shaun Walker in Moscow|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/10/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-armed-crimea-incursion|title=Putin raises stakes over alleged Ukrainian terror plot in Crimea|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> Ukraine denied that the incident took place.<ref>{{cite news|author=Roland Oliphant|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/10/russia-reports-two-dead-in-ukrainian-raid-on-crimea/|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/10/russia-reports-two-dead-in-ukrainian-raid-on-crimea/|archive-date=11 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Putin accuses Ukraine of 'terror' over alleged Crimea raid|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=10 August 2016|access-date=11 December 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Russian accounts claimed that Russian FSB detained "Ukrainian saboteurs" and "terrorists" near Armiansk. 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.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/11/europe/ukraine-high-alert-russia-crimea/index.html|title=Ukraine troops on high alert amid growing tension with Russia|author=Sheena McKenzie|publisher=CNN|access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-putin-discusses-additional-security-measures-for-crimea-1470908089|title=Dispute Between Russia and Ukraine Over Crimea Accusations Escalates|last1=Moscow|first1=Laura Mills in|date=11 August 2016|last2=Cullison|first2=Alan|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|last3=Washington|first3=Carol E. Lee in|access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-10/putin-warns-ukraine-russia-will-respond-to-terror-in-crimea|title=Putin Accuses Ukraine of Terror as Crimea Tensions Escalate|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|publisher=Bloomberg|date=10 August 2016|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref>

On 28 December 2018, Russia completed a high-tech security fence marking the de facto border between Crimea and Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46699807| title=Ukraine conflict: Russia completes Crimea security fence|publisher=BBC|date=28 December 2018|access-date=31 December 2018}}</ref>

==== Kerch Strait incident ==== {{More|Kerch Strait incident}} On 25 November 2018, three ships of the Ukrainian Navy – two small armored artillery boats, ''Berdyansk'' and ''Nikopol'', and the tug ''Yany Kapu'' – carried out a planned transition from the port of Odesa on the Black Sea to the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian side informed in advance about the route in accordance with international standards to ensure the safety of navigation. In the area of the Kerch Strait, they were stopped by a Russian tanker, which blocked the passage under the Crimean Bridge built by the occupying authorities. Contrary to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, the border ships of the Russian Federation (patrol border boats of the Sobol type, the Don PSKR, the Mongoose type boats, the Suzdalets MPK) committed aggressive actions against the ships of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The border ship "Don" rammed the Ukrainian tug, as a result of which the ship's main engine, plating and railing were damaged, and a life raft was lost. Dispatching service refused to ensure the right of freedom of navigation, guaranteed by international agreements.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pickrell |first=Ryan |title=Shocking video shows the exact moment a suspected Russian ship rams a Ukrainian boat during a tense naval clash |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/video-russian-ship-hits-ukraine-boat-2018-11 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> The Russians captured the three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors, 6 of whom were wounded. In Ukraine, on the same day, an urgent meeting of the National Security and Defense Council was convened to discuss the introduction of martial law. The next day, 26 November, they approved the decision to introduce martial law for 30 days.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine Declares Martial Law Along Borders With Russia, Black Sea |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/ukraine-demands-russia-release-ukrainian-sailors-ships/4673893.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=VOA |date=26 November 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Russian invasion of Ukraine === {{further|Russian invasion of Ukraine|Crimea attacks (2022–present)}} thumb|Movement of Russian forces out of Crimea during the outbreak of the 2022 invasion Shortly before the start of negotiations, Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with ''Reuters'', outlined the main requirements for Ukraine, one of which was the recognition of Crimea as Russian.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 March 2022 |title=Russia no longer requesting Ukraine be 'denazified' as part of ceasefire talks |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7f14efe8-2f4c-47a2-aa6b-9a755a39b626 |access-date=2022-10-07}}</ref> President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the air of the ABC TV channel that he was ready to discuss the issues of Crimea and Donbas, but as part of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Video The Zelenskyy Interview: David Muir Reporting {{!}} ABC News Exclusive |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/zelenskyy-interview-david-muir-reporting-abc-news-exclusive-83309456 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

On 29 March 2022, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Mykhailo Podoliak, proposed to negotiate the status of Crimea and Sevastopol for 15 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine proposes talks on Crimea over the next 15 years |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/03/29/7335514/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</ref> At the same time, both Moscow and Kyiv should refrain from resolving this issue by military means throughout this period. Vladimir Medinsky, in turn, said that this does not correspond to the Russian position.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 March 2022 |title=Russia says Ukraine willing to meet core demands, but work continues |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-ukraine-willing-meet-core-demands-work-continues-2022-03-30/ |access-date=2022-10-07}}</ref> According to the statements of Mykhailo Podoliak and David Arakhamia after the negotiations, Ukraine proposed to freeze the issue of the status of Crimea for 15 years, proposed the conclusion of an international treaty on security guarantees, which would be signed and ratified by all countries acting as guarantors of Ukraine's security.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sukhov |first=Oleg |date=29 March 2022 |title=Ukraine seeks security guarantees 'stronger than NATO's,' outlines other terms for peace deal with Russia |url=https://kyivindependent.com/national/ukraine-seeks-security-guarantees-stronger-than-natos-outlines-other-terms-for-peace-deal-with-russia |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=The Kyiv Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Украина предложила на 15 лет заморозить вопрос о статусе Крыма. Россия решила "кардинально сократить военную активность" на части фронта Главные итоги переговоров в Стамбуле |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2022/03/29/ukraina-predlozhila-na-15-let-zamorozit-vopros-o-statuse-kryma-rossiya-reshila-kardinalno-sokratit-voennuyu-aktivnost-na-chasti-fronta |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Meduza |language=ru}}</ref> But the negotiation process was suspended in May 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zelensky's office confirms Ukraine-Russia peace talks suspended |url=https://news.yahoo.com/zelenskys-office-confirms-ukraine-russia-145800903.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=news.yahoo.com |date=17 May 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:В Новофёдоровке в день взрывов на аэродроме, 2022, 03.jpg|thumb|Aerodrome Saky, August 2022]]

On 9 August 2022, explosions occurred at the Saky military airfield in Crimea.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hayda |first=Julian |date=13 August 2022 |title=Who was behind the explosions in Crimea? Ukraine and Russia aren't saying |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1116994504/russia-ukraine-crimea-air-base-explosions |access-date=2022-10-07}}</ref> As a result of a fire and explosions at the airfield used as the main air force base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, from 7 to 11 Su-24 and Su-30SM aircraft were destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 August 2022 |title=Russian warplanes destroyed in Crimea airbase attack, satellite images show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/11/russian-warplanes-destroyed-in-crimea-saky-airbase-attack-satellite-images-show |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wesley Culp |date=13 August 2022 |title=Someone Is Lying: Ukraine and Russia Tell Different Tales About Crimean Airbase Blasts |url=https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/08/someone-is-lying-ukraine-and-russia-tell-different-tales-about-crimean-airbase-blasts/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=19FortyFive |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pérez-Peña |first=Richard |date=10 August 2022 |title=Damage at Air Base in Crimea Worse Than Russia Claimed, Satellite Images Show |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/10/world/ukraine-russia-news-war |access-date=2022-08-15 |id=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jack Buckby |date=12 August 2022 |title=Putin Is Angry: Ukraine Special Forces Were Behind Crimea Attack |url=https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/08/putin-is-angry-ukraine-special-forces-were-behind-crimea-attack/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=19FortyFive |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gokul Pisharody |date=12 August 2022 |title=Britain says Crimea blasts degrade Russia's Black Sea aviation fleet |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/britain-says-crimea-blasts-degrade-russias-black-sea-aviation-fleet-2022-08-12/ |website=Reuters}}</ref> On 7 September 2022, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that it had launched a missile attack on the airfield.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 September 2022 |title=Saky airfield: Ukraine claims Crimea blasts responsibility after denial |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62821044 |access-date=2022-10-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine's General Staff confirms that air bases in Crimea were hit with Ukrainian missiles |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/09/7/7366479/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</ref>

On 23 August 2022, due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the second summit of the Crimea Platform was held online. The event was attended by more than 60 participants – leaders of countries and international organizations. They made statements in support of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secretary General took part in Second Summit of Crimea Platform |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/full-news/-/asset_publisher/y5xQt7QdunzT/content/secretary-general-takes-part-in-second-summit-of-crimea-platform |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.coe.int |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=22 August 2022 |title=The Second Crimean Platform Summit |url=https://good-time-invest.com/blog/the-second-crimean-platform-summit/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=GTInvest |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 29 August 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian-Ukrainian war would end exactly where it began in 2014 – with the entry of Ukrainian troops to the state border in 1991, the liberation of the previously occupied territories of Ukraine, including Donbas and Crimea from the Russians.<ref name=":12"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 August 2022 |title=Ukraine war must end with liberation of Crimea – Zelensky |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62487303 |access-date=2022-10-07}}</ref>

[[File:Принятие присяги РФ в 810-й отдельной бригаде морской пехоты в Севастополе, 2022, 03.jpg|thumb|Citizens of occupied Crimea being mobilized to fight in Ukraine, September 2022]] On 28 September 2022, the commander of the US Army in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, is convinced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to push the Russian military back to their positions on 23 February by the end of this year, and by mid-2023 the Defense Forces can enter the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 September 2022 |title=JAV generolas: kitų metų viduryje Ukrainos kariuomenė bus Kryme |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/pasaulyje/6/1786638/jav-generolas-kitu-metu-viduryje-ukrainos-kariuomene-bus-kryme |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=lrt.lt |language=lt}}</ref> On 30 September 2022, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that "Ukraine will return to the occupied Crimea – this will happen with weapons and pretty soon. The liberation of Crimea will not take place in the summer, but before the end of spring, perhaps a little earlier."<ref name=":0" />

On 6 October 2022, the administration of President of the United States Joe Biden assessed the likelihood of the liberation of Crimea by the Ukrainian military, noting that de-occupation for Ukraine is already quite possible. That is why such a scenario of events can no longer be discounted. The official emphasized that the pace of advancement of the Ukrainian military in the Kherson Oblast gives hope for the liberation of the peninsula temporarily occupied by Russia.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Oliphant |first1=Roland |last2=Coughlin |first2=Con |last3=Bowman |first3=Verity |date=5 October 2022 |title=Ukraine could recapture Crimea as fleeing Russians continue to flounder |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/10/05/ukraine-could-recapture-crimea-fleeing-russians-continue-flounder/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

On 8 October, a fire broke out on the Crimean Bridge in Kerch, the occupation authorities of the peninsula accused Ukraine of undermining the crossing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crimean Bridge is on fire |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/8/7370870/ |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</ref> The Ukrainian government's official Twitter account tweeted "sick burn" in response to the fire, while Mykhailo Podoliak, a Ukrainian presidential advisor, called the damage a "beginning".<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 2022 |title=Crimean bridge: Explosion is 'the beginning', says Zelensky adviser |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63183404 |access-date=2022-10-08}}</ref> The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine compared the destruction of the Crimean Bridge to the destruction of the cruiser ''Moskva'': "What's next, Russkies?".<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 October 2022 |title=Key Bridge Linking Crimea to Russia Damaged as Truck Bomb Goes Off; Ukraine Says 'What's Next, Russkies?' |url=https://www.news18.com/news/world/soon-after-ukraine-explosion-fire-breaks-out-at-key-bridge-linking-mainland-russia-to-crimea-6123427.html |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=News18 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Міноборони про Кримський міст: "Що далі на черзі, росіяни?" |url=https://hromadske.radio/news/2022/10/08/minoborony-pro-kryms-kyy-mist-shcho-dali-na-cherzi-rosiiany |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=Громадське радіо |date=8 October 2022 |language=uk}}</ref> The Russian authorities in the Crimea accused the Ukrainian side for what happened.<ref name="после дня рождения">{{Cite web |title=Взрыв на Крымском мосту. Движение остановлено. Часть автомобильного моста обрушилась. Это произошло на следующий день после дня рождения Путина |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2022/10/08/vzryv-na-krymskom-mostu-dvizhenie-ostanovleno-chast-avtomobilnogo-mosta-obrushilas |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=Meduza |language=ru}}</ref>

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the head of annexed Sevastopol, said that on the morning of 29 October 2022, the Ukrainian military attacked ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation and civilian vessels. According to him, it was the most massive drone attack in the entire history of the war, and the ships are damaged.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explosions in Crimea's Sevastopol: Russia suspends ferry crossings in Sevastopol Bay |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/29/7374046/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=AFP |date=29 October 2022 |title=Russia Says Repelled Ukraine Drone Attack on Crimea Fleet |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/29/russia-says-repelled-ukraine-drone-attack-on-crimea-fleet-a79229 |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}</ref> The Russian Ministry of Defense accused the Royal Navy of preparing an attack on Sevastopol, which is allegedly located in Ochakiv of Mykolaiv Oblast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Russia accuses British Navy of blowing up Nord Stream pipelines and launching an attack on Sevastopol |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/29/7374086/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 October 2022 |title=Russian Black Sea fleet repells[sic] alleged Ukrainian drone attack |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20221029-russian-black-sea-fleet-repells-alleged-ukrainian-drone-attack |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=RFI |language=en}}</ref> Both Ukraine and Britain have rejected Russian allegations, with the United Kingdom saying Russia is "peddling false claims of an epic scale."<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK accuses Russia of 'peddling false claims' after Moscow blames Royal Navy for Nord Stream pipeline blasts |url=https://news.sky.com/story/uk-accuses-russia-of-peddling-false-claims-after-moscow-blames-royal-navy-for-nord-stream-pipeline-blasts-12733132 |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> On the same day, Russia announced that it was suspending participation in the implementation of the grain agreement allegedly because of the "terrorist attack" in the Sevastopol Bay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In response to the explosions in Sevastopol, Russia reportedly backed out of the "grain agreement" |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/29/7374094/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</ref><ref name="suspension">[https://www.npr.org/2022/10/29/1132608672/russia-says-it-is-suspending-a-grain-export-deal-with-ukraine Russia is suspending a Ukraine grain export that had helped bring down food prices] (NPR)</ref>

After the return of control by the government of Ukraine to the right-bank Kherson, Mykolaiv Oblasts and the city of Kherson in November 2022, the ''Financial Times'' published an article based on the head of the Ukrainian Centre for Security and Cooperation, Serhii Kuzan, in which it was noted that the return of the city of Kherson would allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to keep under fire control three important roads, in particular to Crimea, from where the Russians supply equipment and ammunition.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Military briefing: how Russia's Kherson retreat changes Ukraine war|url=https://www.ft.com/content/396db8b9-87c3-4b31-8b78-3c14ffcba3a7|work=Financial Times|date=10 November 2022|access-date=2022-11-13}}</ref> A little earlier, in November 2022, a lawyer and former military man who served in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, Frank Ledwidge, told ''The Guardian'' that in September, Ukraine's commander- in-chief, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said that he saw Russia's "centre of gravity" – the key to the war – as Crimea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Orlova |first=Alisa |date=8 September 2022 |title=Prospects for Running a Military Campaign in 2023: Ukraine's perspective – Kyiv Post – Ukraine's Global Voice |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/prospects-for-running-a-military-campaign-in-2023-ukraines-perspective.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Kyiv Post}}</ref> All military indicators strongly suggest that Ukraine's next offensives will set the peninsula as their objective.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Russia's war is now focused and defensive. Ukraine must prepare for a tough winter |author= Frank Ledwidge|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/08/russiaswar-is-ukraine-winter-colder-russian-troops|work=The Guardian|date=8 November 2022|access-date=2022-11-13|language=en}}</ref>

On 3 December 2022, it became known that the Russians brought packaging material to the central museums of occupied Crimea and began preparing collections and exhibits for export to the Russian Federation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Russians are preparing to take exhibits from Crimean museums |url=https://babel.ua/news/87820-rosiyani-gotuyutsya-vivoziti-eksponati-z-muzejiv-krimu |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=babel.ua |date=3 December 2022 |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2022 |title=In Crimea, the first signs of the evacuation of the occupiers were noticed |url=https://tsn.ua/ato/u-krimu-pomitili-pershi-oznaki-evakuaciyi-okupantiv-2216194.html |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=ТСН.ua |language=uk}}</ref>

On 19 January 2023, during the Ukrainian breakfast in Davos, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the goal of Ukraine is to de-occupy all territories temporarily seized by Russia and called on the Western world to provide heavy weapons for this.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />

== Resistance to occupation == During the early stages of the occupation, cities like Simferopol, Yalta and Sevastopol became the scene of pro-Ukrainian protests of different sizes, most notably a mass protest on 26 February 2014, where tensions arose between approximately 10,000 pro-Ukrainian protesters and a crowd of roughly 5,000 pro-Russian demonstrators in front of the regional administration building in Simferopol.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-02-19 |title=У Ялті організували Євромайдан, в Севастополі вимагали "посадити" опозицію|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/19/7014965/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=www.pravda.com.ua |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/03/pro-ukraine-activists-attacked-crimea-201439162353480960.html | title=Pro-Ukraine activists attacked in Crimea | publisher=Al Jazeera | date=9 March 2014 | access-date=24 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/116949/ukraine-crisis-news-roundup-march-9|title=Ukraine Crisis News Roundup: March 9|magazine=New Republic|date=9 March 2014|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.euronews.com/2014/02/26/crimean-tatar-protesters-protest-in-simferopol/ |title=Crimean Tatar protesters protest in Simferopol &#124; euronews, world news (#EUdebate2014) |publisher=Euronews.com |date=26 February 2014 |access-date=28 April 2014 |archive-date=19 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419013120/http://www.euronews.com/2014/02/26/crimean-tatar-protesters-protest-in-simferopol/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Between 2014 and 2017, the peninsula became the scene of a low-intensity insurgency, during which pro-Ukrainian partisans mainly committed sabotage and arson attacks against infrastructure targets, but also acts of psychological warfare, as well as attacks on Russian security forces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-12 |title= Кримський активіст: Сенцов нас сварив за підпали офісів у Сімферополі |url=http://uapress.info/uk/news/show/31438|access-date=2024-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927023951/http://uapress.info/uk/news/show/31438 |archive-date=2016-09-27 |website=www.gordonua.com |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-16 |title= У Криму партизани напали на військову колону РФ |url=https://gordonua.com/ukr/news/crimea/-krimskij-aktivist-sentsov-vilajav-nas-za-pidpali-ofisiv-u-simferopoli-263076.html|access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.gordonua.com |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-11 |title= Кокер-спаниель и «провода к яичникам». Как в Крыму расследуют диверсии на ЛЭП и газопроводе |url=https://zona.media/article/2018/01/11/cocker |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.zona.media |language=ru}}</ref>{{cn|reason=the existing sources describe individual attacks and do not claim that there was a "low-intensity insurgency" in 2014-2017|date=March 2026}}

During Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, militant pro-Ukrainian partisan movements started to organize in Russian-occupied Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Since then, Crimean partisan cells have been involved in acts of sabotage, arson, assassinations, vandalism and psychological warfare on the territory of the whole peninsula, with the far north, the Southern Coast and the Simferopol-Bakhchysarai metropolitan area being ″hotspots″ of their activity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-02-19 |title=David Kirichenko: Ukraine's Crimean partisans are waging war in the shadows|url=https://kyivindependent.com/david-kirichenko-ukraines-crimean-partisans-are-waging-war-in-the-shadows/|access-date=2024-06-05 |website=www.kyivindependent.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Discrimination against Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars == [[File:2016 Memorial day of Deportation of the Crimean Tatars in Kyiv 06.jpg|thumb|right|A commemoration event in Kyiv, likening the Deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 to the Russian occupation of Crimea since 2014]] {{see also|Republic of Crimea (Russia)#Human rights}} United Nations special rapporteurs have condemned the Russian occupation authorities for attempting "to erase local [Ukrainian] culture, history, and language" and to forcibly replace it with Russian language and culture. Ukrainian monuments and places of worship have been razed, while Ukrainian history books and literature deemed to be "extremist" have been seized from public libraries and destroyed. Civil servants and teachers have been detained for their refusal to implement Russian policy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Targeted destruction of Ukraine's culture must stop: UN experts|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/02/targeted-destruction-ukraines-culture-must-stop-un-experts|publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|date=22 February 2023}}</ref> The International Court of Justice in ruled in 2024 that steep and systematic decline in providing education in Ukrainian language in occupied Crimea was artificially enforced by the Russian Federation with intent to harm Ukrainian ethnicity in the region, thus breaking the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by restricting Ukrainian-language school classes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Russia Ukraine war: ICJ finds Moscow violated terrorism and anti-discrimination treaties|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68161532|work=BBC News|date=31 January 2024}}</ref> Russia has been accused of neocolonialism and colonization in Crimea by enforced Russification, passportization, and by settling Russian citizens on the peninsula and forcing out Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yermakova |first1=Olena |title=The silent Russian colonisation of Crimea |journal=New Eastern Europe |date=August 2021 |url=https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/23/the-silent-russian-colonisation-of-crimea/}}</ref>

In the fall of 2014, the Russian authorities conducted a population census in the occupied Crimea, according to which there were 344,500 Ukrainians on the peninsula (15.7%), and the native language was Ukrainian for only 3.3% of the Crimean population. According to sociologist Iryna Bekeshkina, this reduction in the number of Ukrainians was due to the change in identification of part of the Ukrainian population from Ukrainians to Russians.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Перепис населення в Криму: чому росіян стало більше, а українців – менше|trans-title=Population census in Crimea: why there are more Russians and fewer Ukrainians|url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/26918423.html|access-date=2022-10-10|website=Крым.Реалии|date=24 March 2015 |language=uk}}</ref> After the occupation, many ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars began to leave Crimea for mainland Ukraine.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Росія активно міняє склад населення анексованого Криму – представники України |trans-title=Russia is actively changing the composition of the population of the annexed Crimea – representatives of Ukraine |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/29255626.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Радіо Свобода |date=29 May 2018 |language=uk |last1=Хотин |first1=Ростислав }}</ref> As of 15 August 2019, 40,733 displaced people from the occupied peninsula were officially registered on the mainland of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=На материковій Україні на обліку перебуває 40 733 переселенця з Криму і Севастополя – міністерство |trans-title=40,733 migrants from Crimea and Sevastopol are registered in mainland Ukraine – the ministry |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/news-pereselency-z-krymu/30117853.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=19 August 2019 |language=uk}}</ref> According to activists of the Crimean Tatar movement, several hundreds of thousands of Russians moved to Crimea with the assistance of the Russian authorities during the 4 years of occupation.<ref name=":0" /> All this creates grounds for further fundamental changes in the ethnic structure of the peninsula.<ref name="ndiu">{{Cite web |title=Науково-дослідний інститут українознавства |trans-title=Threats to the Ukrainian community in the occupied Crimea were discussed at a public dialogue in Kyiv and ways of solving them were proposed |url=http://ndiu.org.ua/index.php/component/content/article/102-2009-08-31-13-55-49/2538-2019-03-21-18-47-19 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=ndiu.org.ua|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327003737/http://ndiu.org.ua/index.php/component/content/article/102-2009-08-31-13-55-49/2538-2019-03-21-18-47-19|archive-date=27 March 2019}}</ref>

After the occupation of Crimea, Ukrainians became one of the ethnic communities of the peninsula most discriminated against by the occupying Russian authorities. The occupying power persecutes Ukrainian public figures, carries out anti-Ukrainian propaganda, makes xenophobic and chauvinist statements, persecutes Ukrainian religious communities, bans the activities of Ukrainian public and political organizations, restricts the use of the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian national symbols.<ref name="ndiu" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Кримські українці: пригн��блена меншість |trans-title=Crimean Ukrainians: an oppressed minority |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/25397484.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=25 May 2014 |language=uk}}</ref> Thus, as early as the first half of 2014, Ukrainian-language signs were replaced with Russian ones,<ref name=":2" /> in April 2014, the monument to Petro Sahaydachny and a commemorative sign in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Ukrainian Navy were dismantled in Sevastopol,<ref>{{Cite web |title=У Севастополі пам'ятники Сагайдачному і ВМС України замінять російським адміралом |trans-title=In Sevastopol, the monuments to Sahaidachny and the Navy of Ukraine will be replaced by a Russian admiral |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/26/7023702/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Українська правда |language=uk}}</ref> in August 2014, it was announced that 250 Ukrainian language and literature teachers would be retrained in Russian,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=В анексованому Криму вчителів української перекваліфікують на вчителів російської |trans-title=In the annexed Crimea, Ukrainian teachers are being retrained as Russian teachers |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/26516159.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=6 August 2014 |language=uk}}</ref> in September 2014, the Faculty of Ukrainian Language was liquidated at the Tavri University (a department of Ukrainian philology was created instead),<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 September 2014 |title=В Таврическом университете ликвидировали факультет украинской филологии |trans-title=The faculty of Ukrainian philology was liquidated at the Tavri University |url=http://investigator.org.ua/ua/news/136635/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Центр журналістських розслідувань |language=uk}}</ref> in November 2014, the Crimean Academic Ukrainian Musical Theater was renamed the State Academic Musical Theater of the Republic of Crimea, and the only Ukrainian school-gymnasium in Simferopol was transferred to the Russian language of instruction and renamed to Simferopol Academic Gymnasium,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Українське в Криму? Знищити! |trans-title=Ukrainian in Crimea? Destroy! |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/26694622.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=16 November 2014 |language=uk}}</ref> in December 2014, the Ukrainian children's theater studio "Svitanok" closed due to pressure,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Придушити все українське? У Криму закрилася дитяча театральна студія |trans-title=Suppress everything Ukrainian? A children's theater studio was closed in Crimea |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/27457300.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=30 December 2015 |language=uk}}</ref> in March 2016, the Lesia Ukrainka Museum in Yalta was closed for renovation,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Музей Лесі Українки у Ялті закрили. Назавжди? |trans-title=The museum of Lesya Ukrainka in Yalta was closed, the Russian authorities say – for repairs, writers – forever |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/27613859.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Радіо Свобода |date=15 March 2016 |language=uk }}</ref> in the same month, the Russian FSB searched the premises of the Ukrainian society "Prosvita" in Sevastopol, where they seized more than 250 "extremist materials".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Цензор.НЕТ |title=ФСБ провела обшуки в українській "Просвіті" в окупованому Севастополі: вилучено 250 томів "екстремістської літератури". ВІДЕО |url=https://censor.net/ua/video_news/382076/fsb_provela_obshuky_v_ukrayinskiyi_prosviti_v_okupovanomu_sevastopoli_vylucheno_250_tomiv_ekstremistskoyi |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Цензор.НЕТ |date=31 March 2016 |language=uk}}</ref> The power structures of the occupation authorities detained a number of Ukrainian figures, in particular, Andriy Shchekun, Anatoliy Kovalskyi and others, some of the detainees were tortured.<ref name=":3" /> The Russian military seized most of the churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine&nbsp;—as of October 2018, 38 out of 46 Ukrainian parishes in Crimea stopped working.<ref>{{Cite web |title=В оккупированном Крыму 38 из 46 парафий УПЦ КП прекратили существование |url=https://www.ukrinform.ru/rubric-crimea/2555308-v-okkupirovannom-krymu-tolko-8-prihodov-upc-kp-iz-46.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205130237/https://www.ukrinform.ru/rubric-crimea/2555308-v-okkupirovannom-krymu-tolko-8-prihodov-upc-kp-iz-46.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.ukrinform.ru |language=ru}}</ref> As of June 2019, only one OCU church remained in operation, but it was also looted by a court decision under the guise of repairs. According to Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea Klyment, these hostile actions of the Russian occupying power towards the Ukrainian Church are aimed at the complete destruction of Ukrainian identity and Ukrainians as a separate nation in Crimea.<ref>{{Cite web |title=СЬОГОДНІ В КРИМУ ОКУПАНТИ ПОВНІСТЮ ЗНИЩУЮТЬ УКРАЇНСЬКУ ІДЕНТИЧНІСТЬ – АРХІЄПИСКОП КЛИМЕНТ|trans-title=TODAY IN CRIMEA, THE OCCUPIERS ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYING THE UKRAINIAN IDENTITY – ARCHBISHOP KLIMENT|website=Channel 5 |language=uk|date=26 July 2019 |url=https://www.5.ua/polityka/sohodni-v-krymu-okupanty-povnistiu-znyshchuiut-ukrainsku-identychnist-arkhiiepyskop-klyment-196419.html}}</ref>

In May 2015, the Ukrainian Cultural Center was established in Crimea, whose participants aimed to preserve Ukrainian culture and language on the peninsula.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=У Сімферополі запрацював Український культурний центр – DW – 29.05.2015 |url=https://www.dw.com/uk/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%96%D1%80-%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BC-%D1%83-%D1%81%D1%96%D0%BC%D1%84%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%96-%D0%B4%D1%96%D1%94-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80/a-18481472 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=uk}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Долі кримських активістів – через два роки після анексії – DW – 16.03.2016 |url=https://www.dw.com/uk/%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%96-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85-%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D1%96%D0%B2-%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7-%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%B0-%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D1%96%D1%81%D0%BB%D1%8F-%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%96%D1%97/a-19118263 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Український центр у Криму: "Ми втомилися боятись" – DW – 25.03.2016 |url=https://www.dw.com/uk/%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80-%D1%83-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%83-%D0%BC%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8F-%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C/a-19141405 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=uk}}</ref> Members of the center were repeatedly detained by Russian law enforcement agencies for conducting events to celebrate Ukrainian commemorative dates, some of the participants were searched at home, several were held administratively liable by a Russian court, and they were persecuted for their views at the everyday level.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=У Криму обшукали активістку Українського культурного центру – DW – 29.08.2018 |url=https://www.dw.com/uk/%D1%83-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%83-%D1%84%D1%81%D0%B1-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%88%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D0%B2-%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D1%83/a-45264552 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=uk}}</ref> In August 2017, the center started publishing the newspaper "Krymsky Teren" in Ukrainian and Russian.<ref name=":7" />

In 2015, after the persecution of members of the UCC, the organization "Ukrainian Community of Crimea" was created, headed by Oleg Usyk, a member of "United Russia", but it later ceased to exist. In 2018, a new legal public organization "Ukrainian Community of Crimea" was founded in Crimea, headed by Anastasia Hrydchyna, a member of the Young Guard of United Russia. This organization expresses support for the actions of the Russian authorities, denies the persecution of Ukrainians on the peninsula, participates in official events of the local occupation authorities, holds several congresses of the Ukrainian diaspora in Crimea, and created the Ukrainian-language website "Pereyaslavska rada 2.0". According to historian Andrii Ivanets and journalists of the Krim.Realii project, in fact this organization does not care about the problems of Ukrainians in Crimea and was created as a means of information warfare.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Чим займається російська "Українська громада Криму" |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/rosiiska-ukrainska-hromada-krymu/30226056.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=20 October 2019 |language=uk}}</ref>

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea adopted in April 2014, Ukrainian became one of the official languages of this subject (along with Russian and Crimean Tatar).<ref>Конституция Республики Крым от 11 April 2014</ref> Despite this, the sphere of use of the Ukrainian language is constantly shrinking. After the occupation of 2014, the study of the Ukrainian language on the peninsula was made optional, and its use in official records was stopped altogether.<ref>{{Cite news |title="Щасливі українці" і українська мова в окупованому Криму |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/28482897.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Радіо Свобода |date=14 May 2017 |language=uk |last1=Веселова |first1=Вікторія }}</ref> The number of students with Ukrainian language of instruction continues to decrease. According to official Russian statistics, 12,892 students studied Ukrainian in the 2016/2017 academic year, and 6,400 students in the 2017/2018 academic year.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=У Криму не залишилось україномовних шкіл – DW – 28.08.2018 |trans-title=There are no Ukrainian-language schools left in Crimea |url=https://www.dw.com/uk/%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80-%D1%83-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%83-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BF%D1%96%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%96-%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%8C-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%85-%D1%88%D0%BA%D1%96%D0%BB/a-45251520 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=uk}}</ref> At the same time, according to Ukrainian and international observers, the real number of students with the Ukrainian language of instruction is much lower than officially declared. According to Crimean human rights group, during the occupation, the number of students studying Ukrainian decreased 31 times&nbsp;—from 13,589 students in 2013 to 371 students in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Кількість українських класів у Криму скоротилася у 31 раз за три роки – моніторинг |trans-title=The number of Ukrainian classes in Crimea decreased 31 times in three years – monitoring |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/news/28444498.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=21 April 2017 |language=uk}}</ref> In April 2017, following Ukraine's appeal, the International Court of Justice UN in The Hague considered the case of Russia's violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and adopted a decision according to which Russia should provide opportunities for teaching in the Ukrainian language on the peninsula.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Київ частково виграв – гаазький експерт |trans-title=Kyiv partially won – the Hague expert |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/28439724.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=20 April 2017 |language=uk}}</ref> According to the UN, in the 2017/2018 school year, there were 318 students in Crimea who studied in Ukrainian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ООН: У Криму українською навчаються лише 318 дітей – DW – 13.09.2018 |trans-title=UN: Only 318 children study Ukrainian in Crimea |url=https://www.dw.com/uk/%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D1%83-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%83-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%8E-%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%8C%D1%81%D1%8F-%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B5-318-%D0%B4%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9/a-45471374 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=uk}}</ref> Before the occupation, there were 7 Ukrainian schools in Crimea, but by 2018 all of them were translated into Russian.<ref name=":4" /> According to official data of the Russian Ministry of Education of the Crimea, in the 2018/2019 school year in the Crimea, out of 200,700 children, only 249 (0.2%) studied in the Ukrainian language, there was one Ukrainian-language school and 5 schools with 8 classes with the Ukrainian language of instruction. According to the report of the Crimean human rights group in 2019, not a single school remained in Crimea with the Ukrainian language of instruction, and there were even fewer Ukrainian-language classes than officially claimed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=У Криму не залишилося жодної школи з навчанням українською мовою – правозахисники |trans-title=There is not a single school left in Crimea with instruction in the Ukrainian language – human rights defenders |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/news-v-krymu-zodnoi-shkoly-navchannya-ukrainskoyu/29842936.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=26 March 2019 |language=uk}}</ref>

== Analysis == {{See|Environmental impact of the Russian occupation of Crimea}} Ukrainian historians and politicians assumed a similar development of events back in 2008 during the Russo-Georgian War. Experts pointed out that the Russian Federation only needed a pretext to start annexing the peninsula. The events at the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity became such an occasion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Крым, Донбасс, Порошенко: какие прогнозы оправдались после Евромайдана – BBC Ukrainian |url=https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/ukraine_in_russian/2014/11/141120_ru_s_forecasts_euromaidan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127122406/https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/ukraine_in_russian/2014/11/141120_ru_s_forecasts_euromaidan |archive-date=27 November 2021 |access-date=2015-02-17 |website= |date=20 November 2014 |publisher=BBC |language= |url-status=live |format=}}</ref>

In November 2014, Andrey Illarionov, a former economical adviser to President of Russia Vladimir Putin and a dissident, claimed that talks of a Russian invasion began long before Yanukovych's appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2018 |title=Russian insider says Putin openly planned invasion of Ukraine since 2003 {{!}}Euromaidan Press {{!}} |url=http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/11/25/russian-insider-says-putin-planning-invasion-of-ukraine-since-2003/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222221426/http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/11/25/russian-insider-says-putin-planning-invasion-of-ukraine-since-2003/ |archive-date=2018-12-22 }}</ref>

In January 2017, Ilya Ponomarev, a Russian politician and member of the State Duma of Russia (Fair Russia faction), claimed that the leadership of the annexation of Crimea was entrusted to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Vladimir Putin's aide Vladislav Surkov.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2018 |title=Ilya Ponomarev named two curators of the seizure of Crimea by Russia |url=http://hvylya.net/news/exclusive/ilya-ponomarev-nazval-dvuh-kuratorov-zahvata-kryima-rossiey.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |publisher=Khvylia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222221333/http://hvylya.net/news/exclusive/ilya-ponomarev-nazval-dvuh-kuratorov-zahvata-kryima-rossiey.html |archive-date=2018-12-22 }}</ref>

On 17 December 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has brought up that, in his opinion, Russia's actions in Crimea and Donbas fully fall under the definition of aggression in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 1976:<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 December 2019 |title=МЗС: Дії РФ у Криму та на Донбасі підпадають під визначення агресії в резолюції ГА ООН |url=https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2839220-mzs-dii-rf-u-krimu-ta-na-donbasi-pidpadaut-pid-viznacenna-agresii-v-rezolucii-ga-oon.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223140710/https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2839220-mzs-dii-rf-u-krimu-ta-na-donbasi-pidpadaut-pid-viznacenna-agresii-v-rezolucii-ga-oon.html |archive-date=2019-12-23 }}</ref> "Since 2014, Ukrainian government, has been constantly qualifying the internationally illegal actions of the Russian Federation in Crimea and Donbas as an act of aggression. We clearly and consistently proving that such actions of the Russian Federation fully fall within the definition of aggression in accordance with paragraphs a), b), c), d), e) and g) of Article 3 of the Annex to UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) "Definition ''aggression''", adopted 45 years ago".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mfa.gov.ua/ua/press-center/news/76643-zajava-mzs-ukrajini-z-nagodi-45-ji-richnici-rezolyuciji-generalynoji-asambleji-oon-3314-xxix-viznachennya-agresiji|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine|language=Ukrainian|title=MFA Statement on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (xxix) ''Definition of aggression''|date=17 December 2019}}</ref>

On 11 December 2022, ''The Washington Post'' published an article reporting that the Western world, while supporting Ukraine, fears that any Ukrainian counteroffensive in Crimea could prompt Vladimir Putin to take decisive action, potentially even using nuclear weapons. Some Western officials hope that an agreement on Ukraine's renunciation of Crimea in favor of Russia can become the basis for a diplomatic end to the war. A proponent of Ukraine, Rory Finnin, an associate professor at the Department of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge, believes that a compromise regarding Crimea is unlikely: {{Cquote|The idea that somehow Ukraine should just go back to the status quo post-2014 is foolish because all that will happen is another escalation. It is hard to imagine Ukrainians being comfortable with giving up this territory, knowing this means the abandonment of millions of people. The moral and geopolitical stakes of such an abandonment are grave.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 November 2022 |title=Fierce claims to Crimea highlight slim chance of Russia-Ukraine peace deal |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/11/crimea-russia-ukraine-negotiations-war/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>}}

== Control of settlements == {{Excerpt|Control of cities during the Russo-Ukrainian War|Crimea and Sevastopol|only=table|templates=.*|bold=yes}}

== See also == * List of active separatist movements in Europe * List of states with limited recognition * Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russo-Ukrainian War * Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War * Day of Resistance to Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol * Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts * Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine ** Russian occupation of Chernihiv Oblast ** Russian occupation of Donetsk Oblast ** Russian occupation of Kharkiv Oblast ** Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast ** Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast ** Russian occupation of Luhansk Oblast ** Russian occupation of Mykolaiv Oblast ** Russian occupation of Sumy Oblast ** Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast ** Russian occupation of Zhytomyr Oblast ** Snake Island during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation * 2022 protests in Russian-occupied Ukraine * Ukrainian resistance during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian war crimes * War crime * Terrorism

==Notes== {{notelist}} <references group="note" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commonscatinline}}

{{Russo-Ukrainian War navbox}} {{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}} {{authority control}}

Crimea * Category:February 2014 in Ukraine Category:March 2014 in Ukraine Category:April 2014 in Ukraine Category:2010s in Ukraine Category:2020s in Ukraine * Category:February 2014 in Russia Category:March 2014 in Russia Category:April 2014 in Russia Category:2010s in Russia Category:2020s in Russia