Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation#Ukrainian response

The names of the Crimean annexation vary. In Ukraine, the annexation is known as the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia ({{langx|uk|тимчасова окупація Автономної Республіки Крим і Севастополя Росією|translit=tymchasova okupatsiia Avtonomnoi Respubliky Krym i Sevastopolia Rosiieiu}}), the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the fall of Crimea, and the invasion of Crimea.{{cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1172021-37533|date=24 March 2021|work=Президента України|access-date=24 March 2021|archive-date=24 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324193718/https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1172021-37533|title=Указ Президента України «Про рішення Ради національної безпеки і оборони України від 11 березня 2021 року "Про Стратегію деокупації та реінтеграції тимчасово окупованої території Автономної Республіки Крим та міста Севастополя"» № 117/2021|trans-title=Decree of the President of Ukraine "On the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of March 11, 2021" On the Strategy of deoccupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol № 117/2021}}{{Cite web |url=https://ua.usembassy.gov/seven-years-of-illegal-occupation-of-the-autonomous-republic-of-crimea/ |title=Seven Years of Illegal Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea |website=ua.usembassy.gov |date=4 March 2021}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.army.mil/article/140557/the_fall_of_crimea_one_marines_story |title=The Fall of Crimea: One Marine's Story |author=Jesse Granger |date=29 January 2015 |website=www.army.mil |access-date=27 February 2022}}{{Cite web |url=http://khpg.org/pda/files/docs/index.php?id=1425046486 |title=Bitter Crimean Anniversary – Victims of Russian Annexation |work=khpg.org}}

In the Russian Federation, it is also known as the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation ({{langx|ru|присоединение Крыма к Российской Федерации|translit=prisoyedineniye Kryma k Rossiyskoy Federatsii}}), the return of Crimea ({{langx|ru|возвращение Крыма|translit=vozvrashcheniye Kryma}}), and the reunification of Crimea.{{cite web|url=http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2014/03/25/n_6037281.shtml|title=Минобороны России учредило медаль "За возвращение Крыма"|trans-title=Ministry of Defense of Russia established a medal 'For the Return of Crimea'|language=ru|publisher=Gazeta.ru|date=25 March 2014|access-date=30 August 2014}}{{Cite web|date=18 March 2021|title=Right of Reply to Russia – "Seventh Anniversary of the Reunification of Crimea with Russia"|url=https://osce.usmission.gov/right-of-reply-to-russia-seventh-anniversary-of-the-reunification-of-crimea-with-russia/|access-date=27 February 2022|website=U.S. Mission to the OSCE}}

{{Main|2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine}}

{{See also|1954 transfer of Crimea|Crimea in the Soviet Union|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire}}

{{Campaignbox Post-Soviet conflicts}}

File:Euromaidan Night of 11 December 18.jpg in Kyiv, 11 December 2013]]

Crimea was part of the Crimean Khanate from 1441 until it was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783 by a decree of Catherine the Great.{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00013733 | doi=10.1017/S0035869X00013733 | title=Art. XI.—A Turkish Circle Ode, by Shahin-Ghiray, Khan of the Crimea. With Translation, Memoir of the Author, and a brief Account of the Khanate of the Crimea, its Connexion with Turkey, and its Annexation by Catherine the Second of Russia | date=1861 | last1=Redhouse | first1=J. W. | journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society | volume=18 | pages=400–415 }}Schönle, A. Garden of the empire: Catherine's appropriation of the Crimea. Slavic Review 60, 1-23 (2001). doi.org/10.2307/2697641{{Cite journal

|author=Griffiths, D. M.

|date = 2008

|title = Catherine II discovers the Crimea

|journal = Jahrbuecher Fuer Geschichte Osteuropas

|doi = 10.1103/PhysRevX.2.041015

|volume = 56

|issue =

|pages = 339–348

|url = http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevX.2.041015

|access-date = 2013-02-05

|arxiv = 1206.6007

}}

After the downfall of Russian empire in 1917 during the first stages of the Russian Civil War there were a series of short-lived independent governments (Crimean People's Republic, Crimean Regional Government, Crimean SSR). They were followed by White Russian governments (General Command of the Armed Forces of South Russia and later South Russian Government).

In October 1921, the Bolshevik Russian SFSR gained control of the peninsula and instituted the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a member of Russian Federation. In the following year Crimea joined the Soviet Union as a part of Russia (the RSFSR).

After the Second World War and the 1944 deportation of all of the indigenous Crimean Tatars by the Soviet government, the Crimean ASSR was stripped of its autonomy in 1946 and downgraded to the status of an oblast of the Russian SFSR. In 1954, the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's union with Russia.{{cite news|last=Ragozin|first=Leonid|title=Annexation of Crimea: A masterclass in political manipulation|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/annexation-crimea-masterclass-political-manipulation-190315174459207.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=16 March 2019}}[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18287223 Crimea profile – Overview] BBC News. Retrieved 30 December 2015 In 1989, under Gorbachev's perestroika,{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=gorbachev-perestroika|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/gorbachev-perestroika/?version=sixty-minutes|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWaExplained.com}} the Supreme Soviet declared that the deportation of the Crimean Tatars under Stalin had been illegal{{cite web|url = https://www.alexanderyakovlev.org/fond/issues-doc/67942|year=1989|language=ru|script-title=ru:Декларация Верховного Совета СССР "О признании незаконными и преступными репрессивных актов против народов, подвергшихся насильственному переселению, и обеспечении их прав"|trans-title=Declaration of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On the recognition of illegal and criminal acts of repression against peoples subjected to forced resettlement, and ensuring their rights"|work=www.alexanderyakovlev.org}} and the mostly Muslim ethnic group was allowed to return to Crimea."The Crimean Tatars began repatriating on a massive scale beginning in the late 1980s and continuing into the early 1990s. The population of Crimean Tatars in Crimea rapidly reached 250,000 and leveled off at 270,000 where it remains as of this writing [2001]. There are believed to be between 30,000 and 100,000 remaining in places of former exile in Central Asia." Greta Lynn Uehling, The Crimean Tatars (Encyclopedia of the Minorities, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn) [http://www.iccrimea.org/scholarly/krimtatars.html iccrimea.org]

In 1990, the Soviet of the Crimean Oblast proposed the restoration of the Crimean ASSR.{{cite web|url = http://sevkrimrus.narod.ru/ZAKON/1990obl.htm|script-title=ru:ДЕКЛАРАЦИЯ О ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОМ И ПРАВОВОМ СТАТУСЕ КРЫМА|trans-title=DECLARATION ON THE STATE AND LEGAL STATUS OF CRIMEA|year = 1990|language = ru}} The oblast conducted a referendum in 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the New Union Treaty (that is, become a union republic on its own). By that time, though, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was well underway. The Crimean ASSR was restored for less than a year as part of Ukrainian SSR before the restoration of Ukrainian independence.{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=Dukrainian-independence-referendum|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/ukrainian-independence-referendum/?version=sixty-minutes/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained}} Newly independent Ukraine maintained Crimea's autonomous status,{{cite web|url=https://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1213а-12|title=Про внесення змін і доповнень до Конституції... від 19 June 1991 № 1213а-XII|trans-title=On Amendments to the Constitution ... of 19 June 1991 № 1213a-XII|date=19 June 1991|language=uk}} while the Supreme Council of Crimea affirmed the peninsula's "sovereignty" as a part of Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb001d002-91|author=Parliament of Ukraine|date=17 November 1994|publisher=Government of Ukraine|language=ru|script-title=ru:Декларация о государственном суверенитете Крыма|trans-title=Declaration on State Sovereignty of Crimea|access-date=24 April 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0019002-92|author=Parliament of Ukraine|date=20 October 1999|publisher=Government of Ukraine|language=ru|script-title=ru:О Республике Крым как официальном названии демократического государства Крым|trans-title=On the Republic of Crimea as the official name of the democratic state of Crimea|access-date=24 April 2014}}

The confrontation between the government of Ukraine and Crimea deteriorated between 1992 and 1995. In May 1992 the regional parliament declared an independent "Crimean republic." In June 1992, the parties reached a compromise, that Crimea would have considerable autonomy but remain part of Ukraine.Subtelny, Orest (2009). Ukraine: A History Fourth Edition. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8390-6. Yuri Meshkov, a leader of the Russian movement was elected President of Crimea in 1994 and his party won a majority in the regional parliamentary elections in the same year. The pro-Russian movement was then weakened by internal disagreements and in March 1995 the Ukrainian government gained the upper hand. The office of the elected President of Crimea was abolished and a loyal head of region was installed instead of Meshkov; the 1992 constitution and a number of local laws were repealed. According to Gwendolyn Sasse the conflict was defused due to Crimea's multi-ethnic population, fractures within the pro-Russian movement, Kyiv's policy of avoiding escalation and the lack of active support from Russia.{{Cite book |last=Sasse |first=Gwendolyn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVjXEAAAQBAJ&dq=meshkov+crimea+president&pg=PA1989 |title=Russia's War Against Ukraine |date=2023-09-14 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-5095-6061-5}}

During the 1990s, the serious dispute over control of the Black Sea Fleet and Crimean naval facilities, as well as the status of Crimea in whole were source of tensions between Russia and Ukraine.{{cite book |editor-surname=Curtis |editor-given=Glenn E. |title=Russia: A Country Study |series=Area handbook series |others=Library of Congress, Federal Research Division |edition=1st |place=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1998 |isbn=0-8444-0866-2 |page=429 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/97007563/ |archive-date=2021-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611210545/http://countrystudies.us/russia/ |url-status=live}} | also via [https://archive.org/details/russiacountrystu00curt/page/n14/mode/1up Archive.org] In 1992, Vladimir Lukin, then chairman of the Russian Duma's Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested that in order to pressure Ukraine to give up its claim to the Black Sea Fleet, Russia should question Ukrainian control over Crimea.[https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/crimea-and-black-sea-fleet-russian-ukrainian-relations Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet in Russian- Ukrainian Relations], Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Victor Zaborsky, September 1995 In 1998 the Partition Treaty divided the fleet and gave Russia a naval base in Sevastopol, and the Treaty of Friendship recognized the inviolability of existing borders. However, in 2003 Tuzla Island conflict issues over maritime border resurfaced.

In September 2008, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko accused Russia of giving Russian passports to the population in Crimea, and described it as a "real problem", given Russia's declared policy of military intervention abroad to protect Russian citizens.Tsukanova, Anya. [https://www.smh.com.au/world/cheney-urges-divided-ukraine-to-unite-against-russia-threat-20080906-4auh.html Cheney urges divided Ukraine to unite against Russia 'threat'] The Sydney Morning Herald (via Associated Press). 6 September 2008.

On 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov (of the Russian Bloc{{cite web|url=http://www.taraskuzio.net/media13_files2F26.pdf|title=media13_files2F26.pdf (Archived copy)|website=www.taraskuzio.net|access-date=17 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528230404/http://www.taraskuzio.net/media13_files2F26.pdf|archive-date=28 May 2020}} and then deputy speaker of the Crimean parliament{{cite web|url=http://www.taraskuzio.net/media24_files2F15.pdf|title=media24_files2F15.pdf (Archived copy)|website=www.taraskuzio.net|access-date=17 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102195345/http://www.taraskuzio.net/media24_files2F15.pdf|archive-date=2 January 2020}}) said then that he hoped that Russia would treat Crimea the same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/world/europe/28crimea.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss|title=Russia and Ukraine in Intensifying Standoff|work=The New York Times|date=28 August 2009|access-date=28 February 2014|first=Clifford J.|last=Levy}} Crimea is populated by an ethnic Russian majority and a minority of both ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, and thus demographically possessed one of Ukraine's largest ethnically Russian populations.[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26387353 Ukraine's sharp divisions]". BBC News. 23 April 2014.

As early as in 2010, some analysts already speculated that the Russian government had irredentist plans. Taras Kuzio said that "Russia has an even more impossible time recognizing Ukraine's sovereignty over the Crimea and the port of Sevastopol – as seen by public opinion in Russia, statements by politicians, including members of the ruling United Russia party, experts and journalists".{{cite web|url=https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/ebooks/files/372451918.pdf|title=The Crimea: Europe's Next Flashpoint?|website=Peacepalacelibrary.nl|access-date=11 April 2017|date=30 November 2010|archive-date=28 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928203545/http://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/ebooks/files/372451918.pdf}} In 2011, William Varettoni wrote that "Russia wants to annex Crimea and is merely waiting for the right opportunity, most likely under the pretense of defending Russian brethren abroad".{{cite journal|title=Crimea's Overlooked Instability|last=Varettoni|first=William|date= 21 June 2011|doi=10.1080/0163660X.2011.588128|journal=The Washington Quarterly|volume =34|issue=3|pages=87–99|s2cid=154003492 | issn=0163-660X }}

{{Main|Euromaidan|Revolution of Dignity}}

The Euromaidan protest movement began in Kyiv in late November 2013 after President Viktor Yanukovych, of the Party of Regions, failed to sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement.{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=political-part-of-the-association-agreement-with-eu|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/political-part-of-the-association-agreement-with-eu/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}} Yanukovych won {{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=yanukovych|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/yanukovych/?version=sixty-minutes/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}} the 2010 presidential election with strong support from voters in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and southern and eastern Ukraine. The Crimean autonomous government strongly supported Yanukovych and condemned the protests, saying they were "threatening political stability in the country". The Crimean autonomous parliament said that it supported the government's decision to suspend negotiations on the pending association agreement and urged Crimeans to "strengthen friendly ties with Russian regions".[http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2013/11/27/7003199/ Крымский парламент решил ещё раз поддержать Азарова и заклеймить оппозицию] (The Crimean parliament has decided to once again support Azarov and condemn the opposition) – Европейская правда, 27 ноября 2013{{cite web|url = http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11433|script-title=ru:Решение ВР АРК от 27 November 2013 № 1477-6/13 "О политической ситуации"|trans-title=Decision of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC of November 27, 2013 № 1477–6 / 13 "On the political situation"|language=ru|website=rada.crimea.ua|date=27 November 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140329215707/http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11433|archive-date=29 March 2014}}{{cite web|url = http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11551|script-title=ru:Заявление ВР АРК от 22 January 2014 № 29-6/14-ВР "О политической ситуации"|trans-title=Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC of 22 January 2014 № 29-6 / 14-VR "On the political situation"|language=ru|website=rada.crimea.ua|date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126041112/http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11551|archive-date=26 January 2014}}

On 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council "promised" to consider holding a referendum on the peninsula's status. Speaker Vladimir Klychnikov asked to appeal to the Russian government to "guarantee the preservation of Crimean autonomy".[https://ukrainianweek.com/Politics/132098 The Chronicles of Alienation; The annexation of Crimea from 2 December 2013, through 4 April 2014], The Ukrainian Week (16 March 2015){{cite web|url=http://www.rada.crimea.ua/news/04_02_14_3|script-title=ru:Защитить статус и полномочия Крыма!|trans-title=Protect the status and powers of Crimea!|language=ru|website=rada.crimea.ua|date=4 February 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140303033017/http://www.rada.crimea.ua/news/04_02_14_3|archive-date=3 March 2014}}{{Importance inline|reason=Overview reliable sources needed|date=July 2024}} The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) responded by opening a criminal case to investigate the possible "subversion" of Ukraine's territorial integrity.{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.net/politics/884848-kryimskie-tataryi-gotovyi-dat-otpor-popyitkam-ottorjeniya-avtonomii-ot-ukrainyi-chubarov.html|title=Крымские татары готовы дать отпор попыткам отторжения автономии от Украины – Чубаров.|trans-title=Crimean Tatars are ready to repel attempts to reject autonomy from Ukraine – Chubarov.|date=16 February 2014|agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|access-date=10 April 2014}} On 20 February 2014, during a visit to Moscow, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov stated that the 1954 transfer of Crimea from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a mistake.

The Euromaidan protests came to a head in late February 2014, and Yanukovych and many of his ministers fled the capital on 22 February.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26248275|title=Ukraine crisis: Timeline|date=13 November 2014|access-date=20 October 2015|work=BBC News}} After his flight, opposition parties and defectors from the Party of Regions put together a parliamentary quorum in the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament), and voted on 22 February to remove Yanukovych from his post on the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his duties.{{cite news|title=Archrival Is Freed as Ukraine Leader Flees|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 February 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/world/europe/ukraine.html|access-date=23 February 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/192030.html|title=Rada removes Yanukovych from office, schedules new elections for May{{spaces}}25|agency=Interfax-Ukraine|date=22 February 2014|access-date=25 February 2015}}{{cite web|last=Sindelar|first=Daisy|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/was-yanukovychs-ouster-constitutional/25274346.html|title=Was Yanukovych's Ouster Constitutional?|publisher=Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty|website = Rferl.org|date=23 February 2014|access-date=25 February 2014}} Arseniy Yatsenyuk was appointed by the Rada to serve as the head of a caretaker government until new presidential and parliament elections could be held. This new government was recognised internationally. Russian government and propaganda have described these events as a "coup d'état" and have said that the caretaker government was illegitimate,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/23/ukraine-crisis-yanukovych-tymoshenko-live-updates|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Ukraine MPs appoint interim president as Yanukovych allies dismissed – 23{{spaces}}February as it happened|date=23 February 2014|access-date=12 June 2014}}{{cite journal |last1=RICHTER|first1=ANDREI G. |date=2015 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=110802762&site=eds-live&scope=site |journal=International Journal of Communication (19328036) |title=Legal Response to Propaganda Broadcasts Related to Crisis in and Around Ukraine |volume=9|pages=3125–3126}}{{cite journal|last1=Gerber|first1=Theodore P|last2=Zavisca|first2=Jane|date=Summer 2016|title=Does Russian Propaganda Work?|journal=Washington Quarterly|volume=39|issue=2|pages=79–98|doi=10.1080/0163660X.2016.1204398}}{{cite journal|last1=Tomkiw|first1=Lydia|title=For Ukraine's Wartime Fact-Checkers, the Battle Rages On.|url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=31h&AN=128469796&site=eds-live&scope=site|journal=Wilson Quarterly|volume=Winter2018|page=1}} while researchers consider the subsequent annexation of Crimea to be a true military coup, because the Russian military seized Crimea's parliament and government buildings and instigated the replacement of its government with Russian proxies.[https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-26436575 Putin on Ukraine crisis: 'It is an unconstitutional coup'], BBC News (4 March 2014)[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA4M05420140524 Ukraine defends vote despite unrest, Putin pledges 'respect'], Reuters (24 March 2014){{cite book|author=Maria Popova, Oxana Shevel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmTiEAAAQBAJ&dq=Aksyonov+Mohyliov+crimea&pg=PT123|title=Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States|date=2023-11-08|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-5095-5738-7|edition=|series=|volume=|location=|page=|pages=|at=|chapter=|format=|chapter-url=|orig-year=|agency=}}{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Andrew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NMK2BAAAQBAJ&dq=Fast-forward+to+2014,+and+there+was+a+coup+in+Ukraine,+involving+masked+men+with+guns&pg=PA108|title=Ukraine Crisis: What It Means for the West|date=2014-11-18|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-21292-1|pages=108, 110}}{{cite book|author=Mychailo Wynnyckyj|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9TFVEAAAQBAJ&dq=Republic+of+Crimea+and+supervised+an+illegitimate+and+falsified&pg=PA25|title=Ukraine's Maidan, Russia's War|date=2019-04-30|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-8382-1327-9|edition=|series=|volume=|location=|pages=28|chapter=|format=|chapter-url=|orig-year=|agency=}}

{{See also|Anti-Maidan|Russo-Ukrainian War}}

{{Further|Timeline of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}

File:Отряд самообороны Крыма с щитами раскрашенными в цвета флага республики Крым охраняют памятник Ленина.jpg

File:Pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Simferopol, 2014.jpg (Ukrainian flag on the left, Crimean Tatar flag on the right) during the Russian military intervention in Crimea, 9 March 2014]]

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

The February 2014 revolution of Dignity that ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych sparked a political crisis in Crimea, which initially manifested as demonstrations against the new interim Ukrainian government,[http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/19/7014965/ In Yalta was organized Euromaidan, in Sevastopol were demanding to imprison the opposition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128202347/https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/19/7014965/|date=28 November 2020}}19 February 2014 but rapidly escalated. In January 2014, the Sevastopol city council had already called for formation of "people's militia" units to "ensure firm defence" of the city from "extremism".{{cite web|url=https://nv.ua/publications/rokirovki-v-sbu-kto-takie-malikov-ostafiychuk-i-frolov-55722.html|date=25 June 2015|work=Novoe Vremia|language=ru|script-title=ru:Рокировки в СБУ. Кто такие Маликов, Остафийчук и Фролов|trans-title=Castling the SBU. Who are Malikov, Ostafiychuk and Frolov|access-date=1 January 2016}}

At the end of January 2014, the Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev travelled with his head of security, former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Igor Girkin, to Crimea where he met with Vladimir Konstantinov, Chairman of the Supreme Council, raising the question of whether he would be prepared to take “more drastic measures” to enforce Crimea's autonomy should Kiev descend into complete chaos. Konstantinov had already met with Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Security Council of Russia, in Moscow in December 2013 where he told Patrushev that if Yanukovych was overthrown, Crimea would be ready to break off and become part of Russia. At the end of January 2014, Konstantinov met with Vladislav Surkov, Putin's aide in charge of Ukraine. On February 4, Konstantinov initiated an appeal to Putin to protect the region’s autonomy and started preparing a “survey” of Crimeans on what its status should be. Surkov visited Crimea on February 14 where he might have tried to recruit Crimean prime minister Anatolii Mohyliov for the Russian cause.{{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}}

In response to the rising violence on Maidan, in January local "self-defence" groups started to form. Close to one thousand Kuban Cossacks from the North Caucasus region joined these units in late February. They were also reinforced by thousands of Russian soldiers dressed as civilians. The activities of these groups were closely coordinated with Russian military forces and planned by Russian defence officials. Igor Girkin was responsible for the operational control of some of the units and their coordination with Russian security officials. By different counts, close to ten thousand people joined these self-defence groups, but the exact share of locals remains unknown.{{cite book |last=Kudelia |first=Serhiy |date=2025 |title=Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jbg7EQAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-779553-8 |doi=10.1093/9780197795576.001.0001 |pages=75–77}}

On February 20 several buses with Crimean license plates were stopped at a pro-Maidan checkpoint in a town in Cherkasy oblast. Their passengers were violently intimidated and some buses were burned. This incident was subsequently used by Russian propaganda which made unsubstantiated claims that the passengers were killed in gruesome ways.{{cite book |last1=Arel |first1=Dominique |last2=Driscoll |first2=Jesse |title=Ukraine's Unnamed War: Before The Russian Invasion of 2022 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dWgEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 |date=2023 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009052924 |isbn=978-1-009-05292-4 |pages=105–106}}

The Verkhovna Rada of Crimea members called for an extraordinary meeting on 21 February. In response to Russian separatist sentiment, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that it would "use severe measures to prevent any action taken against diminishing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine".{{NoteTag|It also noted that "certain politicians, local government officials, leaders of civil society organizations, and radically inclined individuals have attempted to create grounds for escalating the civil conflict, and have spread autonomous and separatist attitudes among the people, which could lead to the demise of our as a united nation and loss of its national sovereignty." In addition, the statement said that certain lawmakers of every level have begun separatist negotiations with representatives of foreign nations. "Open consultations are being held on the possible division of the country into separate parts in violation of the Ukrainian constitution," read the statement. "This could lead to an escalation of conflict between different sectors of society, inciting ethnic or religious hatred and military conflict."{{cite news|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv/euromaidan-rallies-in-ukraine-feb-21-live-updates-337287.html|title=EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221182944/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv/euromaidan-rallies-in-ukraine-feb-21-live-updates-337287.html|archive-date=21 February 2014}}}}{{clarify|"against diminishing" seems wrong, mistranslation? From context, one of those words should go.|date=April 2022}} The party with the largest number of seats in the Crimean parliament (80 of 100), the Party of Regions of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, did not discuss Crimean secession, and were supportive of an agreement between President Yanukovych and Euromaidan activists to end the unrest that was struck on the same day in Kyiv.{{cite news|url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/52929.html|title=Regions Party gets 80 of 100 seats on Crimean parliament|date=11 November 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/52929/|archive-date=1 December 2008|agency=Interfax-Ukraine}}{{cite news|url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/191667.html|title=Regions of Crimea meeting didn't address separation of Crimea from Ukraine – deputy prime minister of Crimea|date=21 February 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/191667.html|archive-date=1 December 2008|agency=Interfax-Ukraine}}

Russia was concerned that the new government avowedly committed to closer relations with the West put its strategic positions in Crimea at risk. On 22–23 February{{NoteTag|The date was given by Putin in Russian film commemorating the annexation of Crimea, however, the inscription on the Medal "For the Return of Crimea", awarded by the Russian Ministry of Defence state put 20 February as the starting date}}, Russian president Vladimir Putin{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=putin-as-heir-of-yeltsin|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/uk/putin-as-heir-of-yeltsin/?version=sixty-minutes/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}} convened an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss extrication of the deposed Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, and at the end of that meeting Putin had remarked that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia". After that GRU and FSB began negotiating deals with local sympathizers to ensure that when the operation began there would be well‑armed "local self‑defense groups" on the streets for support.{{rp|11}} On 23 February pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.

According to political scientist Daniel Treisman, there are doubts about Putin's claim that the decision was made on February 23. According to a source close to the commander of the operation, Russian special forces in the port of Novorossiysk and the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol had already been put on alert on February 18. On February 20, they were ordered to blockade Ukrainian military bases in Crimea in a “peacekeeping” operation. Participants in the operation were later presented with a medal for the retaking of Crimea, on which the period of the operation was engraved February 20 to March 18.{{cite book |last=Treisman |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Treisman |date=2018 |chapter=Crimea: Anatomy of a Decision |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PcZZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT241 |title=The New Autocracy: Information, Politics, and Policy in Putin's Russia |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-3243-3 |pages=287–288}}

Crimean prime minister Anatolii Mohyliov said that his government recognised the new provisional government in Kyiv, and that the Crimean autonomous government would carry out all laws passed by the Ukrainian parliament.{{cite news|url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/25274524.html|date=23 February 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/25274524.html|archive-date=1 December 2008|publisher=Radio Svoboda|language=uk|script-title=uk:Прем'єр Криму Могильов заявляє, що виконуватиме нові закони|trans-title=Crimean Prime Minister Mogilev says it will comply with new laws}} In Simferopol, following a pro-Russian demonstration the previous day where protesters had replaced the Ukrainian flag over the parliament with a Russian flag,{{cite news| title=Protesters set a flag of Russia on the building of Crimean Parliament.| url=http://www.unian.ua/politics/889804-mitinguvalniki-vstanovili-prapor-rosiji-na-budivli-parlamentu-krimu-foto.html}} a pro-Euromaidan rally of between 5,000 and 15,000 was held in support of the new government, and demanding the resignation of the Crimean parliament; attendees waved Ukrainian, Tatar, and European Union flags.{{cite news|url=http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/25274499.html|script-title=uk:У Криму вимагають розпуску парламенту автономії і знесення пам'ятника Леніну|trans-title=Crimea demands the dissolution of the parliament of autonomy and the demolition of the monument to Lenin|language=uk|publisher=Radio Svoboda|date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/25274499.html|archive-date=1 December 2008}} Meanwhile, in Sevastopol, thousands protested against the new Ukrainian government, voted to establish a parallel administration, and created civil defence squads with the support of the Russian Night Wolves motorcycle club. Protesters waved Russian flags, chanted "Putin is our president!" and said they would refuse to further pay taxes to the Ukrainian state.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/23/ukraine-crisis-secession-russian-crimea|title=Ukraine crisis fuels secession calls in pro-Russian south|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/23/ukraine-crisis-secession-russian-crimea|archive-date=1 December 2008|url-status = live}}{{cite news|author=Bogdan Huzar|url=http://blogi.newsweek.pl/Tekst/swiat/684527,rosja-przygotowuje-sie-do-zbrojnej-interwencji-na-ukrainie.html|title=Rosja przygotowuje się do zbrojnej interwencji na Ukrainie?|trans-title=Russia is preparing for military intervention in Ukraine?|language=pl|work=Newsweek Polska|date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224033624/http://blogi.newsweek.pl/Tekst/swiat/684527%2Crosja-przygotowuje-sie-do-zbrojnej-interwencji-na-ukrainie.html|archive-date=24 February 2014}} Russian military convoys were also alleged to be seen in the area.

In Kerch, pro-Russian protesters attempted to remove the Ukrainian flag from atop city hall and replace it with the flag of Russia. Over 200 attended, waving Russian, orange-and-black St. George, and the Russian Unity party flags. Mayor Oleh Osadchy attempted to disperse the crowd and police eventually arrived to defend the flag. The mayor said "This is the territory of Ukraine, Crimea. Here's a flag of Crimea," but was accused of treason and a fight ensued over the flagpole.{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.net/politics/888686-v-kerchi-mitinguyuschie-sorvali-ukrainskiy-flag-i-merii-i-povesili-rossiyskiy.html|title=В Керчи митингующие сорвали украинский флаг и мэрии и повесили российский: Новости УНИАН|trans-title=In Kerch, protesters tore down the Ukrainian flag and the mayor's office and hung up the Russian one: News from UNIAN|agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|access-date=24 February 2014}} On 24 February, more rallied outside the Sevastopol city state administration.{{cite web|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/24/7016127/|title=У Севастополі вимагають віддати владу вибраному на мітингу меру ; Українська правда|trans-title=In Sevastopol demand to hand over power to the "chosen" at the "mayor" rally; Ukrainian Pravda|work=Ukrayinska Pravda|access-date=24 February 2014}} Pro-Russian demonstrators accompanied by neo-Cossacks demanded the election of a Russian citizen as mayor and hoisted Russian flags around the city administration; they also handed out leaflets to sign up for a self-defence militia, warning that the "Blue-Brown Europlague is knocking".{{cite web|url=http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-liveblog-day-7-decoding-documents-indicting-dictators/#2308|title=Ukraine Liveblog: Day 7 – Decoding Documents & Indicting Dictators|work=The Interpreter|date=24 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301065847/http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-liveblog-day-7-decoding-documents-indicting-dictators/#2308|archive-date=1 March 2014}}

Volodymyr Yatsuba, head of Sevastopol administration, announced his resignation, citing the "decision of the city's inhabitants" made at a pro-Russian rally, and while caretaker city administration initially leaned towards recognition of new Ukrainian government,{{Cite web|url=https://www.unian.ua/politics/889104-vlada-sevastopolya-viznala-novu-verhovnu-radu.html|website=unian.ua|language=uk|script-title=uk:Влада Севастополя визнала нову Верховну Раду|trans-title=Sevastopol authorities recognised new Verkhovna Rada|access-date=30 January 2019}} continued pressure from pro-Russian activists forced local authorities to concede.{{Cite web|url=http://sevnews.info/rus/view-news/Sevastopolcy-chut-ne-razgromili-administraciyu-no-vse-zhe-dobilis-obeshaniya-peredat-vse-dela-Alekseyu-CHalomu/13540|date=24 February 2014|website=News of Sevastopol|language=ru|script-title=ru:Севастопольцы чуть не разгромили администрацию, но все же добились обещания передать все дела Алексею Чалому|trans-title=Sevastopolitans nearly destroyed city administration, but got a promise [from local authorities] to hand all affairs over to Chaly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017182928/http://sevnews.info/rus/view-news/Sevastopolcy-chut-ne-razgromili-administraciyu-no-vse-zhe-dobilis-obeshaniya-peredat-vse-dela-Alekseyu-CHalomu/13540|archive-date=17 October 2016|access-date=30 January 2019}} Consequently, Sevastopol City Council illegally elected Alexei Chaly, a Russian citizen, as mayor. Under the law of Ukraine, it was not possible for Sevastopol to elect a mayor, as the Chairman of the Sevastopol City State Administration, appointed by the president of Ukraine, functions as its mayor.{{cite book|author=Mark Nordberg|editor=Taras Kuzio|title=Contemporary Ukraine: Dynamics of Post-Soviet Transformation|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tedMMgz3RV8C&pg=PA44|year=1998|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-3150-3|page=44|chapter=3. State and Institution Building in Ukraine}} A thousand protesters present chanted "A Russian mayor for a Russian city".

On 25 February, several hundred pro-Russian protesters blocked the Crimean parliament demanding non-recognition of the central government of Ukraine and a referendum on Crimea's status.{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-crimea.info/news/ot-parlamenta-kryma-potrebovali-provesti-referendum-ob-otdelenii-ot-ukrainy|date=25 February 2014|website="e-Crimea" News agency|language=ru|script-title=ru:От парламента Крыма потребовали провести референдум об отделении от Украины|trans-title=[Pro-Russian demonstrators] demand that Crimean parliament hold referendum on separation from Ukraine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303184134/http://www.e-crimea.info/news/ot-parlamenta-kryma-potrebovali-provesti-referendum-ob-otdelenii-ot-ukrainy|archive-date=3 March 2014|access-date=30 January 2019}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-crimea.info/news/protivniki-centralnoy-vlasti-prigrozili-zahvatom-parlamenta-kryma|date=25 February 2014|website="e-Crimea" News agency|language=ru|script-title=ru:Противники центральной власти пригрозили захватом парламента Крыма|trans-title=Opponents of the central government [of Ukraine] threatened to seize Crimean parliament|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308063238/http://www.e-crimea.info/news/protivniki-centralnoy-vlasti-prigrozili-zahvatom-parlamenta-kryma|archive-date=8 March 2014|access-date=30 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://censor.net.ua/photo_news/272784/prorossiyiskie_sily_zablokirovali_vr_kryma_trebuyut_referenduma_o_nezavisimosti_parlament_sobiraetsya|script-title=ru:Пророссийские силы заблокировали ВР Крыма, требуют референдума о независимости: парламент собирается на внеочередное заседание.|trans-title=Pro-Russian forces blocked the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea demanding an independence referendum: Parliament to meet in an extraordinary session.|language=ru|publisher=censor.net.ua|date=25 February 2014 |work=Цензор.НЕТ |last1=Нет |first1=Цензор }} On the same day, crowds gathered again outside Sevastopol's city hall on Tuesday as rumours spread that security forces could arrest Chaly, but police chief Alexander Goncharov said that his officers would refuse to carry out "criminal orders" issued by Kyiv. Viktor Neganov, a Sevastopol-based adviser to the Internal Affairs Minister, condemned the events in the city as a coup. "Chaly represents the interests of the Kremlin which likely gave its tacit approval," he said. Sevastopol City State Administration chairman Vladimir Yatsuba was booed and heckled on 23 February, when he told a pro-Russian rally that Crimea was part of Ukraine. He resigned the next day.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/25/ukraine-sevastopol-installs-pro-russian-mayor|title=Ukraine: Sevastopol installs pro-Russian mayor as separatism fears grow|author=Howard Amos|work=The Guardian|date=25 February 2014}} In Simferopol, the Regional State Administration building was blockaded with hundreds of protesters, including neo-Cossacks, demanding a referendum of separation; the rally was organized by the Crimean Front.{{cite web|url=http://www.rbc.ru/politics/25/02/2014/907178.shtml|script-title=ru:Активисты Крыма требуют отделения полуострова от Украины|trans-title=Activists demand separation of Crimea from Ukraine|language=ru|publisher=rbc.ru|date=25 February 2014|access-date=21 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223120800/http://www.rbc.ru/politics/25/02/2014/907178.shtml|archive-date=23 December 2015 |work=РБК }}

On 26 February, near the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea building, 4,000–5,000 Crimean Tatars and supporters of the Euromaidan-Crimea movement faced 600–700 supporters of pro-Russian organizations and the Russian Unity Party.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/192882.html Crimean Tatars, pro-Russia supporters approach Crimean parliament building], Interfax-Ukraine (26 February 2014) Tatars leaders organised the demonstration in order to block the sitting of the Crimean parliament which is "doing everything to execute plans of separation of Crimea from Ukraine". Supreme Council Chairman Vladimir Konstantinov said that the Crimean parliament would not consider separation from Ukraine, and that earlier reports that parliament would hold a debate on the matter were provocations.{{cite web|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/26/7016360/|script-title=uk:У парламенті Криму заявили, що не планують відділятись від України|trans-title=Crimean parliament stated they did not plan to separate from Ukraine|language=uk|work=Ukrayinska Pravda|date=26 February 2014}}{{cite news| title=Crimean Parliament doesn't raise a question of separation from Ukraine, speaker said.| url=http://www.unian.ua/politics/890147-u-vr-krimu-ne-stavlyat-pitannya-pro-vidokremlennya-spiker.html}} Tatars created self-defence groups, encouraged collaboration with Russians, Ukrainians, and people of other nationalities, and called for the protection of churches, mosques, synagogues, and other important sites.{{cite web|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/26/7016376/|script-title=uk:Татари розійшлися створювати самооборону, щоб захищати Крим|trans-title=Tartars dispersed to organise themselves to defend Crimea|language=uk|work=Ukrayinksa Pravda|date=26 February 2014}} By nightfall the Crimean Tatars had left; several hundred Russian Unity supporters rallied on.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/192985.html Crimean Tatars leave parliament square; Russian Unity supporters continue rally], Interfax-Ukraine (26 February 2014)

The new Ukrainian government's acting Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov tasked Crimean law enforcement agencies not to provoke conflicts and to do whatever necessary to prevent clashes with pro-Russian forces; and he added "I think, that way – through a dialogue – we shall achieve much more than with standoffs".[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/192993.html Crimean police ordered to prevent clashes at any cost], Interfax-Ukraine (26 February 2014) New Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko requested that the United Nations provide around-the-clock monitoring of the security situation in Crimea.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/193029.html Ukraine asking UN to monitor security situation in Crimea round the clock, says security service chief], Interfax-Ukraine (26 February 2014) Russian troops took control of the main route to Sevastopol on orders from Russian president Vladimir Putin. A military checkpoint, with a Russian flag and Russian military vehicles, was set up on the main highway between the city and Simferopol.{{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}}

On 27 February, unmarked Russian forces in cooperation with local nationalist paramilitaries took over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, with Russian special forces{{cite news|url=http://estonianworld.com/security/lessons-identified-crimea-estonias-national-defence-model-meet-needs/|agency=Estonian World|title=Lessons identified in Crimea – does Estonia's national defence model meet our needs?|date=5 May 2014|access-date=26 June 2022|quote=about 30–50 Russian special forces members entered and occupied the parliament and government buildings of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea}} seizing the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea and the building of the Council of Ministers in Simferopol.{{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}} Russian flags were raised over these buildings{{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}} and barricades were erected outside them.{{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}} Pro-Russian forces also occupied several localities in Kherson Oblast on the Arabat Spit, which is geographically a part of Crimea.

Whilst the "little green men" were occupying the Crimean parliament building, the parliament held an emergency session.{{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|access-date=28 August 2022}}{{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}} It voted to terminate the Crimean government, and replace Prime Minister Anatolii Mohyliov with Sergey Aksyonov.[http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0227/Crimea-sets-date-for-autonomy-vote-amid-gunmen-anti-Kiev-protests-video Crimea sets date for autonomy vote amid gunmen, anti-Kiev protests], (27 February 2014). Aksyonov belonged to the Russian Unity party, which received 4% of the vote in the last election. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the prime minister of Crimea is appointed by the Supreme Council of Crimea in consultation with the president of Ukraine.[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).{{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). Both Aksyonov and speaker Vladimir Konstantinov stated that they viewed Viktor Yanukovych as the de jure president of Ukraine, through whom they were able to ask Russia for assistance.{{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}}

The parliament also voted to hold a referendum on greater autonomy set for 25 May. The troops had cut all of the building's communications, and took MPs' phones as they entered. No independent journalists were allowed inside the building while the votes were taking place. Some MPs said they were being threatened and that votes were cast for them and other MPs, even though they were not in the chamber. Interfax-Ukraine reported "it is impossible to find out whether all the 64 members of the 100-member legislature who were registered as present at when the two decisions were voted on or whether someone else used the plastic voting cards of some of them" because due to the armed occupation of parliament it was unclear how many MPs were present.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/193292.html Number of Crimean deputies present at referendum resolution vote unclear], Interfax-Ukraine (27 February 2014).

The head of parliament's information and analysis department, Olha Sulnikova, had phoned from inside the parliamentary building to journalists and had told them 61 of the registered 64 deputies had voted for the referendum resolution and 55 for the resolution to dismiss the government. Donetsk People's Republic separatist Igor Girkin said in January 2015 that Crimean members of parliament were held at gunpoint, and were forced to support the annexation.{{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}} These actions were immediately declared illegal by the Ukrainian interim government.{{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}}

On the same day, more troops in unmarked uniforms, assisted this time by what appeared to be local Berkut riot police (as well as Russian troops from the 31st Separate Airborne Assault Brigade dressed in Berkut uniforms),{{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}} established security checkpoints on the Isthmus of Perekop and the Chonhar Peninsula, which separate Crimea from the Ukrainian mainland.{{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) – February 27, 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}}{{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}}{{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)}}{{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}} Within hours, Ukraine had been cut off from Crimea. Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian TV channels became unavailable for Crimean viewers, and some of them were replaced with Russian stations.

On 28 February, an estimated 1,400 Spetsnaz troops were flown in to the Gvardeyskoye air base from Russia.{{cite book |last=Arutunyan |first=Anna |author-link=Anna Arutunyan |date=2022 |title=Hybrid Warriors: Proxies, Freelancers and Moscow's Struggle for Ukraine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33KMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT63 |location=London |publisher=Hurst & Company |isbn=978-1-78738-795-9 |pages=46–47}} On the same day, Putin assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a phone call that no regular Russian soldiers are active in Crimea.{{cite journal |last=Rinke |first=Andreas |date=2014 |title=Wie Putin Berlin verlor: Moskaus Annexion der Krim hat die deutsche Russland-Politik verändert |journal=Internationale Politik |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=39–40 |url=https://internationalepolitik.de/de/wie-putin-berlin-verlor |language=de}}

File:2014 Крим.PNG

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.{{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}} 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".{{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}}[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. Putin's swift manoeuvre prompted protests of some Russian intelligentsia and demonstrations in Moscow against a Russian military campaign in Crimea. By 2 March, Russian troops moving from the country's naval base in Sevastopol and reinforced by troops, armour, and helicopters from mainland Russia exercised complete control over the Crimean Peninsula.{{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}}{{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}}{{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}} Russian troops operated in Crimea without insignia. On 3 March they blockaded Southern Naval Base.

On 4 March, Ukrainian General Staff said there were units of the 18th Motor Rifle Brigade, 31st Air Assault Brigade and 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade deployed and operating in Crimea, instead of Russian Black Sea Fleet personnel, which violated international agreements signed by Ukraine and Russia.{{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{{spaces}}– not just soldiers from units of Black Sea Fleet|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|language=uk|date=5 March 2014|access-date=30 December 2014}}{{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}} At a press conference on the same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Russia had no plans to annex Crimea.{{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}} He also said that it had no plans to invade Ukraine, but that it might intervene if Russians in Ukraine were threatened. This was part of a pattern of public denials of the ongoing Russian military operation.

Numerous media reports and statements by the Ukrainian and foreign governments noted the identity of the unmarked troops as Russian soldiers, but Russian officials concealed the identity of their forces, claiming they were local "self-defence" units over whom they had no authority. As late as 17 April, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that there were no "excessive Russian troops" in Ukraine.{{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}} 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".{{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|agency=Interfax|language=ru}} Putin later acknowledged that he had ordered "work to bring Crimea back into Russia" as early as February. He also acknowledged that in early March there were "secret opinion polls" held in Crimea, which, according to him, reported overwhelming popular support for Crimea's incorporation into Russia.{{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|agency=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia|language=ru}}

Russia eventually admitted its troops' presence.{{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}} Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu 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".{{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|agency=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia|date=4 April 2014|language=ru}}{{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{{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|agency=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}} and violated the country's sovereignty.{{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}} 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. The Russian government said the 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}} did not apply due to "circumstances resulting from the action of internal political or socio-economic factors".{{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}} In March 2015, retired Russian Admiral {{Interlanguage link|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.{{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|website=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency}}{{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}}

{{See also|Declaration of Independence of Crimea}}

{{Crimean Crisis of 2014}}

The obligations between Russia and Ukraine with regard to territorial integrity and the prohibition of the use of force are laid down in a number of multilateral or bilateral agreements to which Russia and Ukraine are signatories.{{cite journal|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2520530|title=The Crimea Crisis – An International Law Perspective|date=17 April 2014|journal=Heidelberg Journal of International Law|ssrn=2520530|access-date=7 November 2014|last=Marxsen|first=Christian}}

Vladimir Putin said that Russian troops in the Crimean Peninsula were aimed "to ensure proper conditions for the people of Crimea to be able to freely express their will,"{{cite web|url = http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20796|title=Direct Line with Vladimir Putin|date=17 April 2014|website=kremlin.ru|access-date=17 April 2014}} whilst Ukraine and other nations argue that such intervention is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances Russia was among those who affirmed to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine (including Crimea) and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.{{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}} The 1997 Russian–Ukrainian Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty again reaffirmed the inviolability of the borders between both states, and required Russian forces in Crimea to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, honor its legislation and not interfere in the internal affairs of the country.

The Russian–Ukrainian Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet signed in 1997 and prolonged in 2010, determined the status of Russian military presence in Crimea and restricted their operations, including requirement to show their "military identification cards" when crossing the international border and that operations beyond designated deployment sites was permitted only after coordination with Ukraine.{{Cite web|date=11 March 2014|title=Bound by treaty: Russia, Ukraine and Crimea|url=https://www.dw.com/en/bound-by-treaty-russia-ukraine-and-crimea/a-17487632|access-date=17 December 2020|website=Deutsche Welle}} According to Ukraine usage of navigation stations and troop movements were improperly covered by the treaty and were violated many times as well as related court decisions. February's troop movements were in "complete disregard" of the treaty.{{cite news|last=Yeroshko|first=Iryna|title=Ukraine: Russia shows 'complete disregard' for Black Sea Fleet agreement in Crimea|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/what-parts-of-the-black-sea-fleet-agreement-is-russia-violating-338358.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305020550/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/what-parts-of-the-black-sea-fleet-agreement-is-russia-violating-338358.html|archive-date=5 March 2014|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=4 March 2014}}{{NoteTag|Dilanian (2014) on 3 March, "CIA director John Brennan told a senior lawmaker Monday that a 1997 treaty between Russia and Ukraine allows up to 25,000 Russia troops in the vital Crimea region, so Russia may not consider its recent troop movements to be an invasion, U.S. officials said."{{cite news|url = https://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-us-intelligence-russia-ukraine-20140303-story.html|title = CIA reportedly says Russia sees treaty as justifying Ukraine moves|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=3 March 2014|access-date=12 March 2014|first=Ken|last=Dilanian}}}}

File:2014-03-09 - Perevalne military base - 0162.JPG" and trucks after the seizure of Perevalne military base, 9 March 2014]]

{{Anchor|Declaration of Independence: a letter of intent}}According to the Constitution of Russia, the admission of new federal subjects is governed by federal constitutional law (art. 65.2).{{cite web|url=http://constitution.garant.ru/english/|title=Constitution of the Russian Federation|website=Official site|date=30 December 2008|access-date=3 January 2016}} Such a law was adopted in 2001, and it postulates that admission of a foreign state or its part into Russia shall be based on a mutual accord between the Russian Federation and the relevant state and shall take place pursuant to an international treaty between the two countries; moreover, it must be initiated by the state in question, not by its subdivision or by Russia.{{cite web|url=http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2014)004-e|title=Opinion on "Whether Draft Federal constitutional Law No. 462741-6 on amending the Federal constitutional Law of the Russian Federation on the procedure of admission to the Russian Federation and creation of a new subject within the Russian Federation is compatible with international law" Endorsed by the Venice Commission at Its 98th Plenary Session (Venice, 21–22 March 2014)|publisher=Venice Commission|date=21–22 March 2014}}

On 28 February 2014, Russian MP Sergey Mironov, along with other members of the Duma, introduced a bill to alter Russia's procedure for adding federal subjects. According to the bill, accession could be initiated by a subdivision of a country, provided that there is "absence of efficient sovereign state government in foreign state"; the request could be made either by subdivision bodies on their own or on the basis of a referendum held in the subdivision in accordance with corresponding national legislation.{{cite web|url = http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-REF(2014)011-e|title = Draft Federal Constitutional Law of the Russian Federation 'amending the Federal Constitutional Law on the Procedure of Admission to the Russian Federation and creation of a new subject of the Russian Federation in its composition' of the Russian Federation (translation)|date=10 March 2014}}

On 11 March 2014, both the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopted a declaration of independence, which stated their intent to declare independence and request full accession to Russia should the pro-Russian option receive the most votes during the scheduled status referendum. The declaration directly referred to the Kosovo independence precedent, by which the Albanian-populated Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija declared independence from Russia's ally Serbia as the Republic of Kosovo in 2008—a unilateral action Russia staunchly opposed. The Russian government used Kosovo independence precedent as a legal justification for the annexation of Crimea{{Cite web|url=https://www.e-ir.info/2019/03/18/the-kosovan-precedent-for-the-annexation-of-crimea/|title=The Kosovan Precedent for the Annexation of Crimea|first=Daniel|last=Millar|date=18 March 2019}}{{Cite journal |last=Jusufa |first=Elvina |date=2015 |title=The Kosovo Precedent in the Secession and Recognition of Crimea |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=442265 |journal=ILIRIA International Review |language=English |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=267–286 |doi=10.21113/iir.v5i1.20 |doi-broken-date=18 February 2025 |issn=2192-7081}}{{Cite journal |last=Rossi |first=Christopher R. |date=2015–2016 |title=Impaled on Morton's Fork: Kosovo, Crimea, and the Sui Generis Circumstance |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/emint30&id=369&div=&collection= |journal=Emory International Law Review |volume=30 |pages=353}}{{Cite web|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2461153|title=Has the Advisory Opinion's finding that Kosovo's Declaration of Independence was not Contrary to International Law Set an Unfortunate Precedent? by Anne Peters :: SSRN|ssrn=2461153 }} Many analysts saw the Crimean declaration as an overt effort to pave the way for Crimea's annexation by Russia{{cite news|url = http://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2014/03/11/verhovnyj-sovet-kryma-prinyal-deklaraciyu-nezavisimosti|script-title=ru:Крым определился, каким способом войдет в Россию|trans-title=Crimea decided how to enter Russia|date=11 March 2014|newspaper=Vedomosti|language=ru}} and reject Russia's Kosovo precedent justification as being different compared to Crimea events,{{Cite journal |last=Šućur |first=Adam |date=2014 |title=Observing the Question of Secession in the Wake of Recent Events in Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Crimea |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/209344 |journal=Zagrebačka pravna revija |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=275–301 |issn=1848-6118}}{{Cite book |last=Kosumi |first=Vebi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hs5QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT31 |title=Can Crimea Claim Secession and Accession to Russian Federation in Light of Kosovo'S Independence? |date=2018-02-27 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-5462-8888-6 |pages= |language=en}} comparing the annexation to the Nazi Germany's anschluss of Austria and Czechoslovak Sudetes instead.{{Cite web |date=2014-03-19 |title=Преса Британії: Путін запозичив аргументи фюрера? |url=https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/press_review/2014/03/140319_uk_press_yg |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=BBC News Україна |language=uk}}{{Cite web |date=2022-09-30 |title=Мюнхенское согласие на аннексию: земля Чехословакии в обмен на мир с Гитлером |url=https://ruski.radio.cz/myunhenskoe-soglasie-na-anneksiyu-zemlya-chehoslovakii-v-obmen-na-mir-s-gitlerom-8762879 |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Radio Prague International |language=ru}}

Crimean authorities' stated plans to declare independence from Ukraine made the Mironov bill unnecessary. On 20 March 2014, two days after the treaty of accession was signed, the bill was withdrawn by its initiators.{{cite web|url=http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/%28SpravkaNew%29?OpenAgent&RN=462741-6&02|script-title=ru:Законопроект № 462741-6 О внесении изменений в Федеральный конституционный закон "О порядке принятия в Российскую Федерацию и образования в ее составе нового субъекта Российской Федерации" (в части расширения предмета правового регулирования названного Федерального конституционного закона)|trans-title=Draft Law No. 462741-6 On Amendments to the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Procedure for Admission to the Russian Federation and the Formation of a New Subject of the Russian Federation within it" (in terms of expanding the subject of legal regulation of the named Federal Constitutional Law)|website=duma.gov.ru|language=ru|access-date=3 May 2014|archive-date=3 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103193822/http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/%28SpravkaNew%29?OpenAgent&RN=462741-6&02}}{{Primary source inline|date=June 2021}}

At its meeting on 21–22 March, the Council of Europe's Venice Commission stated that the Mironov bill violated "in particular, the principles of territorial integrity, national sovereignty, non-intervention in the internal affairs of another state and pacta sunt servanda" and was therefore incompatible with international law.{{Cite web|date=22 March 2014|title=Venice Commission gives damning verdict on Crimean|url=http://khpg.org//en/1395450934|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group}}{{cite web|url = http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-AD(2014)004-e|title = CDL-AD(2014)004-e Opinion on "Whether Draft Federal constitutional Law No. 462741-6 on amending the Federal constitutional Law of the Russian Federation on the procedure of admission to the Russian Federation and creation of a new subject within the Russian Federation is compatible with international law" endorsed by the Venice Commission at its 98th Plenary Session (Venice, 21–22 March 2014)|publisher=Venice Commission|date=March 2014}}

{{Main|2014 Crimean status referendum}}

On 27 February 2014, following the takeover of its building and replacement of Ukrainian-elected officials with Russian-controlled actors by Russian special forces,{{Cite journal |last1=Coynash |first1=Halya |last2=Charron |first2=Austin |date=2019-01-02 |title=Russian-occupied Crimea and the state of exception: repression, persecution, and human rights violations |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15387216.2019.1625279 |journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics |language=en |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=28–53 |doi=10.1080/15387216.2019.1625279 |issn=1538-7216 |quote=... The referendum was a transparent attempt to validate a violent coup of the Crimean government, and was accordingly held under hostile occupation by the military of a foreign state aided by Russian and pro-Russian paramilitary forces. ...}} the Supreme Council of Crimea voted to hold a referendum on 25 May, with the initial question as to whether Crimea should upgrade its autonomy within Ukraine.{{cite web|url=http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11610|script-title=ru:Постановление ВР АРК "Об организации и проведении республиканского (местного) референдума по вопросам усовершенствования статуса и полномочий Автономной Республики Крым"|trans-title=Decree of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea "On organizing and holding a republican (local) referendum on improving the status and powers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea"|language=ru|website=rada.crimea.ua|date=9 March 2014|access-date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329214951/http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11610|archive-date=29 March 2014}}{{Primary source inline|date=June 2021}} The referendum date was later moved from 25 May to 30 March.{{cite news|url=http://www.interfax.ru/world/362023|script-title=ru:Аксенов: перенос референдума в Крыму связан с тем, что конфликт вышел за пределы разумного|trans-title=Aksyonov: referendum postponement in Crimea is due to the fact that the conflict went beyond reasonable limits|agency=Interfax|language=ru |date=March 2014 }} A Ukrainian court declared the referendum to be illegal.{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.net/politics/892973-sud-priznal-nezakonnyimi-naznachenie-aksenova-premerom-i-provedenie-referenduma-v-kryimu.html|title=Суд признал незаконными назначение Аксенова премьером и проведение референдума в Крыму|trans-title=The court ruled that Aksenov's appointment as prime minister and the holding of a referendum in Crimea were illegal|agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|access-date=10 April 2014}}

On 6 March, the Supreme Council moved the referendum date to 16 March and changed its scope to ask a new question: whether Crimea should apply to join Russia as a federal subject or restore the 1992 Crimean constitution within Ukraine, which the Ukrainian government had previously invalidated. This referendum, unlike one announced earlier, contained no option to maintain the status quo of governance under the 1998 constitution.{{cite web|url=http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/content/world-ukraine-crisis-referendum/1869197.html|script-title=ru:Референдум в Крыму: ответ "нет" не предусмотрен|trans-title=Referendum in Crimea: the answer "no" is not provided|publisher=Voice of America|language=ru|access-date=22 April 2014|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305090114/http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/content/world-ukraine-crisis-referendum/1869197.html}} Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, stated that "The authorities in Crimea are totally illegitimate, both the parliament and the government. They are forced to work under the barrel of a gun and all their decisions are dictated by fear and are illegal".{{cite news|date=6 March 2014|title=Crimean authorities work under barrel of a gun – Ukraine leader|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-crimea-gun-idUSL6N0M32QY20140306|access-date=8 May 2014}}

On 14 March, the Crimean status referendum was deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine,{{cite web|url = http://24tv.ua/ru/ks_priznal_nekonstitutsionnim_postanovlenie_o_provedenii_referenduma_v_krimu_n420886|title = КС признал неконституционным постановление о проведении референдума в Крыму – Видео| date=14 March 2014|trans-title=The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the decision to hold a referendum in Crimea – Video}} and a day later, the Verkhovna Rada formally dissolved the Crimean parliament. With a referendum looming, Russia massed troops near the Ukrainian eastern border,{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/world/europe/ukraine.html| title="Russian Troops Mass at Border With Ukraine"| website=The New York Times| date=13 March 2014| last1=Myers| first1=Steven Lee| last2=Smale| first2=Alison}} likely to threaten escalation and stymie Ukraine's response.

The referendum was held despite the opposition from the Ukrainian government. Official results reported about 95.5% of participating voters in Crimea (turnout was 83%) were in favour of seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia.{{cite news|last1=Collett-White|first1=Mike|last2=Popeski|first2=Ronald|title=Crimeans vote over 90 percent to quit Ukraine for Russia|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis/crimeans-vote-over-90-percent-to-quit-ukraine-for-russia-idUSBREA1Q1E820140316|work=Reuters|date=15 March 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/crimea-referendum-wide-condemnation-after-region-votes-to-split-from-ukraine/|title=Crimea referendum Wide condemnation after region votes to split from Ukraine Fox News|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=16 March 2014}} Crimean Tatars mostly boycotted the referendum.{{cite news|last=Halimah|first=Halimah|title=Crimea's vote: Was it legal?|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/world/europe/ukraine-vote-legality/|access-date=19 March 2014|publisher=CNN|date=17 March 2014}} A report by Evgeny Bobrov, a member of the Russian President's Human Rights Council, suggested the official results were inflated and between 50 and 60% of Crimeans voted for the reunification with Russia, with the turnout of 30-50%, meaning that 15% to 30% of Crimeans eligible to vote voted for the Russian annexation (the support was higher in administratively separate Sevastopol).{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/05/05/putins-human-rights-council-accidentally-posts-real-crimean-election-results-only-15-voted-for-annexation/|title=Putin's 'Human Rights Council' Accidentally Posts Real Crimean Election Results|author=Paul Roderick Gregory|date=5 May 2014|work=Forbes}}{{cite web |website=Совет при Президенте РФ|title=Проблемы жителей Крыма |url=http://www.president-sovet.ru/structure/gruppa_po_migratsionnoy_politike/materialy/problemy_zhiteley_kryma.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008041908/http://www.president-sovet.ru/structure/gruppa_po_migratsionnoy_politike/materialy/problemy_zhiteley_kryma.php |archive-date=8 October 2014 |language=ru}} According to a survey carried out by Pew Research Center in 2014, 54% of Crimean residents supported the right of regions to secede, 91% believed the referendum was free and fair and 88% believed that the government in Kyiv ought to recognize the results of the vote.{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2014 |title=Despite Concerns about Governance, Ukrainians Want to Remain One Country |url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/05/08/despite-concerns-about-governance-ukrainians-want-to-remain-one-country/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001152520/http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/05/08/despite-concerns-about-governance-ukrainians-want-to-remain-one-country/ |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |access-date=May 19, 2014 |publisher=Pew Research Center}}

The means by which the referendum was conducted were widely criticised by foreign governments{{cite news|title=Crimea referendum: Voters 'back Russia union'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26606097|work=BBC News|date=16 March 2014}} and in the Ukrainian and international press, with reports that anyone holding a Russian passport regardless of residency in Crimea was allowed to vote.{{cite news|title=Declaring victory, Crimean and Russian officials pledge fast integration|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/voting-in-crimean-referendum-starts-even-as-ukraine-government-declares-it-illegitimate-339523.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317082713/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/voting-in-crimean-referendum-starts-even-as-ukraine-government-declares-it-illegitimate-339523.html|archive-date=17 March 2014}} OSCE refused to send observers to the referendum, stating that invitation should have come from an OSCE member state in question (i.e. Ukraine), rather than local authorities.{{Cite news|date=11 March 2014|script-title=ru:Наблюдатели ОБСЕ не приедут на референдум в Крым|language=ru-RU|trans-title=OSCE observers won't monitor referendum in Crimea|agency=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/ru/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BB%D1%8E%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%81%D0%B5-%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%B4%D1%83%D1%82-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%84%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BC-%D0%B2-%D0%BA%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%BC/a-17488704|access-date=27 September 2021}} Russia invited a group of observers from various European far-right political parties aligned with Putin, who stated the referendum was conducted in a free and fair manner.{{cite news|url=http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/buitenland/1.1908165|agency=De Redactie|language=nl|title=Extreemrechtse partijen uitgenodigd op referendum Krim|trans-title=Far-right parties invited to Crimea referendum|date=13 March 2014|access-date=12 June 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.dw.com/en/referendum-day-in-crimeas-simferopol/a-17500378|publisher=Deutsche Welle|title=Referendum day in Crimea's Simferopol|date=16 March 2014|access-date=12 June 2014}}

{{Redirect|Republic of Crimea (country)|other uses|Republic of Crimea (disambiguation)}}

{{See also|Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Crimea}}

The Republic of Crimea was short lived. On 17 March, following the official announcement of the referendum results, the Supreme Council of Crimea declared the formal independence of the Republic of Crimea, comprising the territories of both the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which was granted special status within the breakaway republic.{{cite web|url=http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11748|script-title=ru:Постановление ГС РК № 1745-6/14 – О независимости Крыма|trans-title=Resolution State Council Republic of Crimea № 1745-6/14 – On the independence of Crimea|language=ru|publisher=rada.crimea.ua|date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319060200/http://www.rada.crimea.ua/act/11748|archive-date=19 March 2014}} The Crimean parliament declared the "partial repeal" of Ukrainian laws and began nationalising private and Ukrainian state property located on the Crimean Peninsula, including Ukrainian ports{{cite web|url=http://nbnews.com.ua/ru/news/115865/|script-title=ru:Парламент Крыма национализировал порты полуострова и их имущество|trans-title=The Parliament of Crimea nationalized the ports of the peninsula and their property|publisher=nbnews.com.ua|language=ru|date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407073203/http://nbnews.com.ua/ru/news/115865/|archive-date=7 April 2014}} and property of Chornomornaftogaz.{{cite web|url=http://glavred.info/ekonomika/krym-nacionaliziroval-chernomorneftegaz-274301.html|script-title=ru:Крым национализировал "Черноморнефтегаз"|trans-title=Crimea nationalized "Chernomorneftegaz"|publisher=glavred.info|date=17 March 2014|language=ru}} Parliament also formally requested that the Russian government admit the breakaway republic into Russia,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/17/ukraine-crimea-russia-referendum-complain-result|title=Crimea applies to be part of Russian Federation after vote to leave Ukraine|work=The Guardian|date=17 March 2014}} with Sevastopol asking to be admitted as a "city of federal significance".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/world/europe/european-union-ukraine.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0|work=The New York Times|title=Lawmakers in Crimea Move Swiftly to Split From Ukraine|date=17 March 2014|access-date=17 March 2014|first1=David M.|last1=Herszenhorn|first2=Alan|last2=Cowell}} On the same day, the de facto Supreme Council renamed itself the State Council of Crimea,{{cite news|url=http://ria.ru/world/20140317/999851464.html|script-title=ru:Крым начал процедуру присоединения к РФ, объявив о независимости|trans-title=Crimea began the process of joining the Russian Federation, declaring independence|agency=RIA Novosti|language=ru|date=17 March 2014 |work=РИА Новости }} declared the Russian ruble an official currency alongside the hryvnia,{{cite news|url=http://tass.ru/en/economy/723938|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201221944/http://tass.ru/en/economy/723938|url-status = live|archive-date=1 December 2014|title=Russian ruble announced Crimea's official currency|agency=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia|date=17 March 2014}} and in June the Russian ruble became the only form of legal tender.{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-01/crimea-adopts-ruble-as-ukraine-continues-battling-rebels.html| work=Bloomberg| first=Volodymyr| last=Verbyany| title=Crimea Adopts Ruble as Ukraine Continues Battling Rebels| date=1 June 2014|access-date=25 June 2022}}

Putin officially recognised the Republic of Crimea 'as a sovereign and independent state' by decree on 17 March.{{cite news|title=Putin Approves Draft Treaty On Crimea|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-crimea/25300414.html|access-date=17 February 2021|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}{{cite news|url=http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20596|agency=Kremlin|title=Executive Order on recognising Republic of Crimea|date=17 March 2014|access-date=17 March 2014}}

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

{{See also|Republic of Crimea (Russia)|Crimean Federal District|Political status of Crimea}}

File:Putin with Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergey Aksyonov and Alexey Chaly.jpg, Sergey Aksyonov and Alexey Chaly at the Kremlin, 18 March 2014]]

The Treaty on Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia was signed between representatives of the Republic of Crimea (including Sevastopol, with which the rest of Crimea briefly unified) and the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014 to lay out terms for the immediate admission of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia and part of the Russian Federation.{{Cite news|last1=Myers|first1=Steven Lee|last2=Barry|first2=Ellen|author-link2=Ellen Barry (journalist)|date=18 March 2014|title=Putin Reclaims Crimea for Russia and Bitterly Denounces the West|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/world/europe/ukraine.html|access-date=19 June 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=18 March 2014|title=Ukraine crisis: Putin signs Russia-Crimea treaty|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26630062|access-date=19 June 2021}}{{NoteTag|The treaty between Russia and pro-Russian Aksyonov government of Crimea, signed on that date, specified that Crimea would be considered incorporated into Russia since the date of signing. The document entered into force on 1 April 2014,{{cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20605|script-title=ru:Договор между Российской Федерацией и Республикой Крым о принятии в Российскую Федерацию Республики Крым и образовании в составе Российской Федерации новых субъектов|trans-title=Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea on the acceptance of the Republic of Crimea into Russian Federation and education of new subjects of the Russian Federation|language=ru|publisher=Kremlin.ru|date=18 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}} (and a [http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201403180024 PDF copy] of signed document) but pending that was applied provisionally since very signing.}} On 19 March, the Russian Constitutional Court decided that the treaty is in compliance with the Constitution of Russia.{{Cite web|date=19 March 2014|title=Constitutional Court Approves Russia-Crimea Treaty|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/03/19/constitutional-court-approves-russia-crimea-treaty-a33133|access-date=19 June 2021|website=The Moscow Times}} The treaty was ratified by the Federal Assembly and Federation Council by 21 March.{{Cite web|last=Pifer|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Pifer|date=18 March 2019|title=Five years after Crimea's illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/03/18/five-years-after-crimeas-illegal-annexation-the-issue-is-no-closer-to-resolution/|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Brookings Institution}} A Just Russia's Ilya Ponomarev was the only State Duma member to vote against the treaty.{{Cite web|last=Conrad|first=Naomi|date=1 May 2014|title=The deputy who voted against annexing Crimea|url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-deputy-who-voted-against-annexing-crimea/a-17605965|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Deutsche Welle}} The Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol became the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia.{{cite web|url=http://pravo.gov.ru:8080/page.aspx?92062|script-title=ru:Распоряжение Президента Российской Федерации от 17 March 2014 No. 63-рп 'О подписании Договора между Российской Федерацией и Республикой Крым о принятии в Российскую Федерацию Республики Крым и образовании в составе Российской Федерации новых субъектов'|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318095051/http://pravo.gov.ru:8080/page.aspx?92062|archive-date=18 March 2014}}

During a controversial incident in Simferopol on 18 March, some Ukrainian sources said that armed gunmen that were reported to be Russian special forces allegedly stormed the base. This was contested by Russian authorities, who subsequently announced the arrest of an alleged Ukrainian sniper in connection with the killings,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26637296|title=Ukraine officer 'killed in attack on Crimea base'|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 March 2014|quote=Crimean police later said both Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces had been fired on from a single location ... None of the accounts can be independently confirmed.}} but later denied the arrest had occurred.{{Cite news|url=http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/197041.html|title=Crimean prosecutors do not confirm info on Simferopol shooter detention|agency=Interfax-Ukraine|access-date=15 July 2017}}

The two casualties had a joint funeral attended by both the Crimean and Ukrainian authorities, and both the Ukrainian soldier and Russian paramilitary "self-defence volunteer" were mourned together.{{cite news|author=Roland Oliphant|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10716412/Ukraines-unlikeliest-funeral-the-only-two-foes-to-die-in-Russias-Crimea-takeover-are-mourned-together.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10716412/Ukraines-unlikeliest-funeral-the-only-two-foes-to-die-in-Russias-Crimea-takeover-are-mourned-together.html|archive-date=11 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Ukraine's unlikeliest funeral: the only two foes to die in Russia's Crimea takeover are mourned together|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}}{{cbignore}} As of March 2014 the incident was under investigation by both the Crimean authorities and the Ukrainian military."Joint Funeral2" [http://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/opposing-sides-in-crimean-conflict-come-together-for-simferopol-funeral-of-two-men-killed-one-ukrainian-the-other-russian-340418.html 'Opposing sides in Crimean conflict come together today for Simferopol funeral of two men killed, one Ukrainian, the other Russian'], Kyiv Post, 22 March 2014"Joint Funeral3" [http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/europe/53641-funeral-crimea-first-casualties 'Funeral held for Crimea's first casualties'], Agence France-Presse, 22 March 2014

In response to shooting, Ukraine's then acting defense minister Ihor Tenyukh authorised Ukrainian troops stationed in Crimea to use deadly force in life-threatening situations. This increased the risk of bloodshed during any takeover of Ukrainian military installations, yet the ensuing Russian operations to seize the remaining Ukrainian military bases and ships in Crimea did not bring new fatalities, although weapons were used and several people were injured. The Russian units involved in such operations were ordered to avoid usage of deadly force when possible. Morale among the Ukrainian troops, which for three weeks were blockaded inside their compounds without any assistance from the Ukrainian government, was very low, and the vast majority of them did not offer any real resistance.{{Cite book|title=Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine|last=Lavrov|first=Anton|publisher=East View Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-879944-65-7|edition=Second|location=Minneapolis|chapter=Russian Again: The Military Operation for Crimea|oclc=921141500|editor-last=Pukhov|editor-first=Ruslan}}

On 24 March, the Ukrainian government ordered the full withdrawal of all of its armed forces from Crimea.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/24/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/|date=24 March 2014|access-date=24 March 2014|title=Ukraine orders Crimea troop withdrawal as Russia seizes naval base|publisher=CNN}} Approximately 50% of the Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea had defected to the Russian military.{{cite web|url=http://un.ua/eng/article/500186.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326090516/http://un.ua/eng/article/500186.html|archive-date=26 March 2014|title=Defense Ministry: 50% Of Ukrainian Troops in Crimea Defect To Russia|agency=Ukrainian News Agency|date=24 March 2014|access-date=20 April 2014}}{{cite web|author=Jonathan Marcus|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26713727|title=Ukrainian forces withdraw from Crimea|publisher=BBC|date=24 March 2014|access-date=20 April 2014}} On 26 March the last Ukrainian military bases and Ukrainian Navy ships were captured by Russian troops.{{in lang|uk}} [https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/politics/2014/03/140326_russian_control_crimea_dk Russian troops captured all Ukrainian parts in the Crimea], BBC Ukrainian (26 March 2014)

File:Первомай 2019 в Симферополе 2.jpg parade in Simferopol, 1 May 2019]]

{{Main|Russian occupation of Crimea}}

On 27 March, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution, which declared the Crimean referendum and subsequent status change invalid, by a vote of 100 to 11, with 58 abstentions and 24 absent.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47443&Cr=Ukraine&Cr1=|title=United Nations News Centre – Backing Ukraine's territorial integrity, UN Assembly declares Crimea referendum invalid|date=27 March 2014|publisher=United Nations|access-date=1 April 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Charbonneau|first1=Louis|last2=Donath|first2=Mirjam|editor=Chizu Nomiyama|editor2=Tom Brown|date=27 March 2014|title=U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA2Q1GA20140327|access-date=1 April 2014}}

Crimea and Sevastopol switched to Moscow Time at 10 p.m. on 29 March.{{cite news|title=В 22.00 в Крыму и в Севастополе стрелки часов переведут на два часа вперёд – на московское время|trans-title=At 22.00 in the Crimea and in Sevastopol, the clock hands will be moved two hours ahead – to Moscow time|url=http://www.1tv.ru/news/social/255292|access-date=29 March 2014|date=29 March 2014}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/crimea-to-set-clocks-to-russia-time-114033000014_1.html|title=Crimea to set clocks to Russia time|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=30 March 2014|via=Business Standard}}

On 31 March, Russia unilaterally denounced the Kharkiv Pact{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=kharkiv-agreements|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/kharkiv-agreements/?version=sixty-minutes/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}} and Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet.{{Cite web|date=31 March 2014|title=Россия денонсировала соглашения с Украиной о флоте|trans-title=Russia denounced the agreements with Ukraine on the fleet|url=https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/ukraine_russian/2014/03/140331_ru_s_russia_ukraine_agreements|access-date=19 June 2021|website=BBC News Ukrainian|language=ru}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Putin cited "the accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol into Russia" and resulting "practical end of renting relationships" as his reason for the denunciation.See [http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/(ViewDoc)?OpenAgent&work/dz.nsf/ByID&FB317FAF2E70539D43257CAA0031A71B Presidential explanatory note to the denunciation bill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019030057/http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/(ViewDoc)?OpenAgent&work%2Fdz.nsf%2FByID&FB317FAF2E70539D43257CAA0031A71B|date=19 October 2017}} {{in lang|ru}} On the same day, he signed a decree formally rehabilitating the Crimean Tatars, who were ousted from their lands in 1944, and the Armenian, German, Greek, and Bulgarian minority communities in the region that Stalin also ordered removed in the 1940s.

Also on 31 March 2014, the Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev announced a series of programmes aimed at swiftly incorporating the territory of Crimea into Russia's economy and infrastructure. Medvedev announced the creation of a new ministry for Crimean affairs, and ordered Russia's top ministers who joined him there to make coming up with a development plan their top priority.{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/medvedev-visits-crimea-vows-development-aid-2014-03-31|title=Medvedev visits Crimea, vows development aid|author=Lukas I. Alpert, Alexander Kolyandr|work=Market Watch|date=31 March 2014 }} On 3 April 2014, the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol became parts of Russia's Southern Military District.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} On 7 May 2015, Crimea switched its phone code system from the Ukrainian number system to the Russian number system.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/264357.html Crimea switches to Russian telephone codes], Interfax-Ukraine (7 May 2015)

On 11 April, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea and City Charter of Sevastopol were adopted by their respective legislatures,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2451537|script-title=ru:Крым и Севастополь ожидают представления свыше|trans-title=Crimea and Sevastopol await submission from above|date=12 March 2014|magazine=Kommersant|language=ru|last=Nikiforov|first=Vadim|access-date=23 April 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140411/189159776/Crimean-Parliament-Approves-New-Constitution.html|title=Crimean Parliament Approves New Constitution|author=Sputnik|date=11 April 2014|work=ria.ru}} coming into effect the following day in addition the new federal subjects were enumerated in a newly published revision of the Russian Constitution.{{cite web|url=http://www.mk.ru/politics/russia/article/2014/04/11/1012747-kryim-propisalsya-v-konstitutsii-rossii.html|script-title=ru:Крым прописался в конституции России|trans-title=Crimea registered in the Russian constitution|date=11 April 2014|publisher=mk.ru|last=Nezamyatnyj|first=Ivan|language=ru}}{{cite journal|author=Thomas D. Grant|title=Annexation of Crimea|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=109|issue=1|date=1 January 2015|pages=68–95|jstor=amerjintelaw.109.1.0068|doi=10.5305/amerjintelaw.109.1.0068|s2cid=146943718}}

On 14 April, Vladimir Putin announced that he would open a ruble-only account with Bank Rossiya and would make it the primary bank in the newly annexed Crimea as well as giving the right to service payments on Russia's $36{{spaces}}billion wholesale electricity market – which gave the bank $112{{spaces}}million annually from commission charges alone.{{cite news|last=Hobson|first=Peter|date=14 April 2014|title=Sanctioned Bank Rossiya to Service $36Bln Domestic Electricity Market|work=The Moscow Times|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/04/14/sanctioned-bank-rossiya-to-service-36bln-domestic-electricity-market-a33944}}

File:Location UK-Crimea-RU.PNG

Russia withdrew its forces from southern Kherson in December 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.ukrinform.ua/rus/news/rossiya_ubrala_voyska_s_arabatskoy_strelki|agency=Ukrinform|script-title=ru:Россия убрала войска с Арабатской стрелки|trans-title=Russian troops removed from the Arabat Spit|language=ru|date=9 December 2014|access-date=14 April 2016}}

In July 2015, Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, declared that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia.{{cite web|author=Jess McHugh|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/putin-eliminates-ministry-crimea-region-fully-integrated-russia-russian-leaders-say-2009463|work=International Business Times|title=Putin Eliminates Ministry of Crimea, Region Fully Integrated into Russia, Russian Leaders Say|date=15 July 2015|access-date=13 April 2016}} Until 2016 these new subjects were grouped in the Crimean Federal District.

On 8 August 2016, Ukraine reported that Russia had increased its military presence along the demarcation line.{{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}} In response to this military buildup Ukraine also deployed more troops and resources closer to the border with Crimea.{{cite web|last=Kaplan|first=Allison|url=http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/1.736052|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}} The Pentagon has downplayed a Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling Russian troops along the border a regular military exercise.{{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}} 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.{{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}} Ukraine denied that the incident took place.{{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}}

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.{{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}}{{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}}

Ukrainian media reported that Panov was a military volunteer fighting in the east of the country, however he has more recently been associated with a charitable organization. Russia also claimed that the alleged border infiltration was accompanied by "heavy fire" from Ukrainian territory, resulting in the death of a Russian soldier. The Ukrainian government called the Russian accusations "cynical" and "senseless" and argued that since Crimea was Ukrainian territory, it was Russia which "has been generously financing and actively supporting terrorism on Ukrainian territory".{{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}}

File:Севастополь, апрель 2022, 80.jpg, Crimea, 29 April 2022]]

In 2017, a survey performed by the Centre for East European and International Studies showed that 85% of the non-Crimean Tatar respondents believed that if the referendum would be held again it would lead to the same or "only marginally different" results. Crimea was fully integrated into the Russian media sphere, and links with the rest of Ukraine were hardly existent.{{cite web|url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/74635|title=What Is the Public Mood Like in Crimea?|last=Sasse|first=Gwendolyn|date=6 November 2017|publisher=Carnegie Europe|access-date=19 November 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.zois-berlin.de/fileadmin/media/Dateien/ZOiS_Reports/ZOiS_Report_3_2017.pdf|title=ZOiS Report № 3. Terra Incognita: The public mood in Crimea|date=November 2017|access-date=31 January 2019|archive-date=24 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224203617/https://www.zois-berlin.de/fileadmin/media/Dateien/ZOiS_Reports/ZOiS_Report_3_2017.pdf}}

On 26 November 2018, lawmakers in the Ukraine Parliament overwhelmingly backed the imposition of martial law along Ukraine's coastal regions and those bordering Russia in response to the firing upon and seizure of Ukrainian naval ships by Russia near the Crimean Peninsula a day earlier. A total of 276 lawmakers in Kyiv backed the measure, which took effect on 28 November 2018 and was ended on 26 December.{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-live-latest-update-martial-law-black-sea-ships-navy-crisis-a8651736.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-live-latest-update-martial-law-black-sea-ships-navy-crisis-a8651736.html|archive-date=7 May 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Kiev declares martial law after Russian seizure of Ukrainian ships in Black Sea|work=The Independent|access-date=26 November 2018}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-ends-martial-law/29677677.html|title=Poroshenko Ends Martial Law in Ukraine As Tensions With Russia Continue|date=26 December 2018|access-date=27 December 2018|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}

On 28 December 2018, Russia completed a high-tech security fence marking the de facto border between Crimea and Ukraine.{{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}}

In 2021, Ukraine launched the Crimea Platform, a diplomatic initiative aimed at protecting the rights of Crimean inhabitants and ultimately reversing the annexation of Crimea.{{Cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/08/23/crimea-is-ukraine-zelenskyy-opens-inaugural-crimea-summit|title='Crimea is Ukraine': Zelenskyy opens inaugural Crimea summit|date=23 August 2021|publisher=euronews|access-date=29 August 2021}}

{{See also|Economic history of the Russian Federation|Russian financial crisis (2014–2016)}}

Initially after the annexation, salaries rose, especially those of government workers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} This was soon offset by the increase in prices caused by the depreciation of the ruble. Wages were cut back by 30% to 70% after Russian authority became established.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} Tourism, previously Crimea's main industry, suffered in particular, down by 50% from 2014 in 2015.{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/20/opinions/crimea-anniversary/|title=Back in the USSR? Spying and control in the new Crimea|author=Christian Streib|date=20 March 2015|access-date=3 January 2016|publisher=CNN}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2015-09-08/paradise-lost-crimea|title=Paradise Lost in Crimea: How Russia Is Paying for the Annexation|last=Berman|first=Ilan|date=8 September 2015|magazine=Foreign Affairs|access-date=31 August 2016}} Crimean agricultural yields were also significantly impacted by the annexation.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} Ukraine cut off supplies of water through the North Crimean Canal, {{Failed verification span|which supplies 85% of Crimea's fresh water,|date=June 2024}} causing the 2014 rice crop to fail, and greatly damaging the maize and soybean crops.{{cite news|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/05/06/crimea-rice-crop-fails-over-water-war-with-ukraine-a35082|title=Crimea Rice Crop Fails Over Water War With Ukraine|date=6 May 2014|work=The Moscow Times|access-date=3 January 2016}} The annexation had a negative influence on Russians working in Ukraine and Ukrainians working in Russia.{{Cite journal|last1=Naidenova|first1=Iuliia|last2=Nesseler|first2=Cornel|last3=Parshakov|first3=Petr|last4=Chusovliankin|first4=Aleksei|date=2020|title=After the Crimea crisis: Employee discrimination in Russia and Ukraine|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=15|issue=10|pages=e0240811|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0240811|pmid=33112927|pmc=7592748|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1540811N|doi-access=free}}

The number of tourists visiting Crimea in the 2014 season was lower than in the previous years due to a combination of "Western sanctions", ethical objections by Ukrainians, and the difficulty of getting there for Russians.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28688478|title=Tourism takes a nosedive in Crimea|last1=Ash|first1=Lucy|work=BBC News Magazine|date=8 August 2014|access-date=29 December 2015}} The Russian government attempted to stimulate the flow of tourists by subsidizing holidays in the peninsula for children and state workers from all Russia{{cite news|url=http://ria56.ru/posts/45547575473754735.htm|title=Крым готовится к референдуму и ожидает Русских сезонов|trans-title=Crimea prepares for a referendum and expects Russian seasons|publisher=РИА Оренбуржье|date=17 March 2014|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109162758/http://ria56.ru/posts/45547575473754735.htm}}{{cite news|url=http://www.vz.ru/society/2014/3/17/677499.html|title=Снова в "Артек"|trans-title=Back to Artek|publisher=Vzglyad|date=17 March 2014}}{{Better source needed|date=June 2021}} which worked mostly for state-owned hotels. In 2015, overall 3 million tourists visited Crimea according to official data, while before annexation it was around 5.5{{spaces}}million on average. The shortage is attributed mostly to stopped flow of tourists from Ukraine. Hotels and restaurants are also experiencing problems with finding enough seasonal workers, who were most arriving from Ukraine in the preceding years. Tourists visiting state-owned hotels were complaining mostly about low standard of rooms and facilities, some of them still unrepaired from Soviet times.{{cite web|last=Titov|first=Evgeny|date=11 September 2015|title=Полуостров в тени материка|trans-title=Peninsula in the shadow of the mainland|url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/09/11/65560-poluostrov-v-teni-materika|access-date=12 September 2015|website=Novaya Gazeta|language=ru}}

According to the German newspaper Die Welt, the annexation of Crimea is economically disadvantageous for the Russian Federation. Russia will have to spend billions of euros a year to pay salaries and pensions. Moreover, Russia will have to undertake costly projects to connect Crimea to the Russian water supply and power system because Crimea has no land connection to Russia and at present (2014) gets water, gas and electricity from mainland Ukraine. This required building a bridge and a pipeline across the Kerch Strait. Also, Novinite claims that a Ukrainian expert told Die Welt that Crimea "will not be able to attract tourists".{{cite news|last=Steiner|first=Eduard|date=17 March 2014|title=Krim-Annexion wird zur Milliardenlast für Russland|language=de|trans-title=The annexation of Crimea is becoming a billion dollar burden for Russia|work=Die Welt|url=https://www.welt.de/print/die_welt/politik/article125869962/Krim-Annexion-wird-zur-Milliardenlast-fuer-Russland.html}}

The then first Deputy to Minister of Finance of Russian Federation Tatyana Nesterenko said that the decision to annex Crimea was made by Vladimir Putin exclusively, without consulting Russia's Finance Ministry.{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.info/politics/1052109-decision-to-annex-crimea-taken-by-putin-personally.html|title=Decision to annex Crimea 'taken by Putin personally'|publisher=UNIAN|date=3 March 2015}}

The Russian business newspaper Kommersant expresses an opinion that Russia will not acquire anything economically from "accessing" Crimea, which is not very developed industrially, having just a few big factories, and whose yearly gross product is only $4{{spaces}}billion. The newspaper also says that everything from Russia will have to be delivered by sea, higher costs of transportation will result in higher prices for everything, and to avoid a decline in living standards Russia will have to subsidise Crimean people for a few months. In total, Kommersant estimates the costs of integrating Crimea into Russia in $30{{spaces}}billion over the next decade, i.e. $3{{spaces}}billion per year.{{cite news|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2425287|title=Расходный полуостров|trans-title=Expendable Peninsula|newspaper=Kommersant|date=7 March 2014}}

Western oil experts{{who|date=June 2021}}estimate that Russia's seizing of Crimea, and the associated control of an area of Black Sea more than three times its land area gives it access to oil and gas reserves potentially worth trillions of dollars.{{cite news|last=Broad|first=William|date=17 March 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/world/europe/in-taking-crimea-putin-gains-a-sea-of-fuel-reserves.html|title=In Taking Crimea, Putin Gains a Sea of Fuel Reserves|newspaper=The New York Times}} It also deprives Ukraine of its chances of energy independence. Moscow's acquisition may alter the route along which the South Stream pipeline would be built, saving Russia money, time and engineering challenges.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} It would also allow Russia to avoid building in Turkish territorial waters, which was necessary in the original route to avoid Ukrainian territory.{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/In-taking-Crimea-Putin-gains-a-sea-of-fuel-reserves/articleshow/35312595.cms?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519140005/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/In-taking-Crimea-Putin-gains-a-sea-of-fuel-reserves/articleshow/35312595.cms|archive-date=19 May 2014|title=In taking Crimea, Putin gains a sea of fuel reserves|work=The Times of India|access-date=18 May 2014}} This pipeline was later canceled in favour of TurkStream, however.

File:Opening of the Crimean bridge (2018-05-15) 01.jpg before the opening of the Crimean Bridge in May 2018]]

The Russian Federal Service for Communications (Roskomnadzor) warned about a transition period as Russian operators have to change the numbering capacity and subscribers. Country code will be replaced from the Ukrainian +380 to Russian +7. Codes in Crimea start with 65, but in the area of "7" the 6 is given to Kazakhstan which shares former Soviet Union +7 with Russia, so city codes have to change. The regulator assigned 869 dialling code to Sevastopol and the rest of the peninsula received a 365 code.{{cite web|url=http://www.1prime.biz/news/telecommunications/_Ctrl_Telegraph_to_set_Russian_tariffs_on_telegrams_in_Crimea_Apr_3/0/%7B49A072BC-07C5-44F4-8296-74340FE93120%7D.uif|title=Central Telegraph to set Russian tariffs on telegrams in Crimea Apr{{spaces}}3|work=Prime|date=26 March 2014|access-date=30 March 2014|archive-date=31 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031035351/http://www.1prime.biz/news/telecommunications/_Ctrl_Telegraph_to_set_Russian_tariffs_on_telegrams_in_Crimea_Apr_3/0/%7B49A072BC-07C5-44F4-8296-74340FE93120%7D.uif|url-status=dead}} At the time of the unification with Russia, telephone operators and Internet service providers in Crimea and Sevastopol are connected to the outside world through the territory of Ukraine.{{cite web|url=http://www.comnews.ru/node/81207|title=Крымчанам придется поменять номера телефонов и SIM-карты|trans-title=Crimeans will have to change phone numbers and SIM cards|publisher=comnews.ru|date=19 March 2014|access-date=19 March 2014}} Minister of Communications of Russia, Nikolai Nikiforov announced on his Twitter account that postal codes in Crimea will now have six-figures: to the existing five-digit number the number two will be added at the beginning. For example, the Simferopol postal code 95000 will become 295000.{{cite web|url=http://www.comnews.ru/node/81297|title="Почта России" переводит почтовое сообщение с Крымом на российские тарифы|trans-title="Post of Russia" translates postal communication with the Crimea to Russian tariffs|website=comnews.ru|date=25 March 2014|access-date=25 March 2014}}

In the area that now forms the border between Crimea and Ukraine mining the salt lake inlets from the sea that constitute the natural borders, and in the spit of land left over stretches of no-man's-land with wire on either side was created.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2014/05/30/sneaking-into-crimea-or-maybe-not/|title=Sneaking into Crimea – Or Maybe Not|work=Forbes|date=30 May 2014|access-date=31 May 2014}} On early June that year Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a Government resolution No.961О пунктах пропуска через государственную границу России в Республике Крым и городе Севастополе dated 5 June 2014 establishing air, sea, road and railway checkpoints. The adopted decisions create a legal basis for the functioning of a checkpoint system at the Russian state border in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.{{cite web|url = http://government.ru/en/docs/12922/|title=Government Order on checkpoints at the Russian border in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol|publisher=Government of Russia|date=7 June 2014|access-date=7 June 2014}}{{Third-party inline|date=June 2021}}

In the year following the annexation, armed men seized various Crimean businesses, including banks, hotels, shipyards, farms, gas stations, a bakery, a dairy, and Yalta Film Studio.{{cite news|url = http://bigstory.ap.org/article/166097f662ec4e6e899b14c12e9a0c58/change-leadership-crimea-means-property-grab|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141203004052/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/166097f662ec4e6e899b14c12e9a0c58/change-leadership-crimea-means-property-grab|archive-date=3 December 2014|title=Change of leadership in Crimea means property grab|first1=Laura|last1=Mills|first2=John-Thor|last2=Dahlburg|agency=Associated Press|date=2 December 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/world/seizing-assets-in-crimea-from-shipyard-to-film-studio.html|title=Seizing Assets in Crimea, From Shipyard to Film Studio|first=Neil|last=MacFarquhar|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 January 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/under-russia-isolated-crimea-twilight-060215014.html|title=Under Russia, isolated Crimea is twilight zone for business|first=Maria|last=Antonova|agency=Agence France-Presse|website=Yahoo News|date=27 February 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150301041453/https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/under-russia-isolated-crimea-twilight-060215014.html|archive-date=1 March 2015|url-status = live}} Russian media have noted this trend as "returning to the 90's," which is perceived as a period of anarchy and rule of gangs in Russia.{{cite web|last=Murtazin|first=Irek|author-link=Irek Murtazin|date=3 September 2015|title=На часах – "девяностые"|trans-title="Nineties" on the clock|url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/09/04/65471-na-chasah-8212-171-devyanostye-187|access-date=12 September 2015|website=Novaya Gazeta|language=ru}}

After 2014 the Russian government invested heavily in the peninsula's infrastructure—repairing roads, modernizing hospitals and building the Crimean Bridge that links the peninsula to the Russian mainland. Development of new sources of water was undertaken, with huge difficulties, to replace closed Ukrainian sources.{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/new-maps-appear-to-show-crimea-is-drying-up/29361889.html|title=New maps appear to show Crimea is drying up|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=13 July 2018}} In 2015, the Investigative Committee of Russia announced a number of theft and corruption cases in infrastructure projects in Crimea, for example; spending that exceeded the actual accounted costs by a factor of three. A number of Russian officials were also arrested for corruption, including head of federal tax inspection.{{cite news|date=30 June 2015|title=Second Russian Official in 2 Days Arrested in Crimea Over Corruption|newspaper=The Moscow Times|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2015/06/30/second-russian-official-in-2-days-arrested-in-crimea-over-corruption-a47787|access-date=12 September 2015}}

(According to February 2016 official Ukrainian figures) after Russia's annexation 10% of Security Service of Ukraine personnel left Crimea; accompanied by 6,000 of the pre-annexation 20,300 people strong Ukrainian army.{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/02/8/7098237/ After the annexation of Crimea left only 10% of staff SBU], Ukrayinska Pravda (8 February 2016)

As result of the disputed political status of Crimea, Russian mobile operators never expanded their operations into Crimea and all mobile services are offered on the basis of "internal roaming," which caused significant controversy inside Russia. Telecoms however argued that expanding coverage to Crimea will put them at risk of Western sanctions and, as result, they will lose access to key equipment and software, none of which is produced locally.{{cite news|url=http://krymsos.com/en/news/cherez-sanktsiyi-v-krimu-ne-bude-velikikh-operatoriv-zvyazku-rf/|title=Crimea will not have large telecom operators of Russian Federation because of sanctions|work=CrimeaSOS|access-date=10 July 2018|archive-date=11 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711022744/http://krymsos.com/en/news/cherez-sanktsiyi-v-krimu-ne-bude-velikikh-operatoriv-zvyazku-rf/}}{{cite web|url=https://mts-guide.ru/rouming-mts-v-krymu.html|script-title=ru:Роуминг МТС в Крыму: есть или нет в 2018 году|trans-title=MTS roaming in Crimea: yes or no in 2018|website=mts-guide.ru|language=ru|access-date=10 July 2018|archive-date=11 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711030651/https://mts-guide.ru/rouming-mts-v-krymu.html}}

The first five years of Crimean occupation cost Russia over $20 billion, roughly equal to two years of Russia's entire education budget.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-03-19/russia-vs-ukraine-crimea-s-water-crisis-is-an-impossible-problem-for-putin| title=Crimea's Water Crisis Is an Impossible Problem for Putin| newspaper=Bloomberg.com|publisher=Bloomberg|date=19 March 2021|access-date=30 August 2021}}

According to the United Nations and multiple NGOs, Russia is responsible for multiple human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances and instances of discrimination, including persecution of Crimean Tatars in Crimea since the illegal annexation.{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/14/crimea-persecution-crimean-tatars-intensifies|title = Crimea: Persecution of Crimean Tatars Intensifies |website=Human Rights Watch|date=14 November 2017}}{{cite news|url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-crimea-putin-human-rights-abuses-un-accusations-claims-a7421406.html|title = UN accuses Russia of multiple human rights abuses|date=16 November 2016|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=21 June 2017}} The UN Human Rights Office has documented multiple human rights violations in Crimea. Noting that minority Crimean Tatars have been disproportionately affected.{{cite news|url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/CrimeaThematicReport10Sept2018_EN.pdf|title=Report on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol|publisher=OHCHR|date=30 June 2018|access-date=24 September 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=25681&LangID=E|title=Human Rights Situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol|publisher=OHCHR|date=6 March 2020|access-date=24 September 2021}} In December 2016, the UN General Assembly voted on a resolution on human rights in occupied Crimea. It called on the Russian Federation "to take all measures necessary to bring an immediate end to all abuses against residents of Crimea, in particular reported discriminatory measures and practices, arbitrary detentions, torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, and to revoke all discriminatory legislation". It also urged Russia to "immediately release Ukrainian citizens who were unlawfully detained and judged without regard for elementary standards of justice".{{cite news|url = https://www.unian.info/politics/1687011-un-general-assembly-votes-for-resolution-on-human-rights-in-crimea.html|title = UN General Assembly votes for resolution on human rights in Crimea|access-date=21 June 2017}}

After the annexation, Russian authorities banned Crimean Tatar organizations, filed criminal charges against Tatar leaders and journalists, and targeted the Tatar population. The Atlantic Council have described this as the practice of collective punishment, and therefore as a war crime prohibited under international humanitarian law and Geneva convention.{{cite web| url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russias-collective-punishment-of-the-crimean-tatars-is-a-war-crime/| title=Russia's collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars is a war crime| date=25 February 2021}}{{better source needed|date=May 2023}}

In March 2014, Human Rights Watch reported that pro-Ukrainian activists and journalists had been attacked, abducted, and tortured by "self-defense" groups.{{cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/14/crimea-attacks-disappearances-illegal-forces|title=Crimea: Attacks, 'Disappearances' by Illegal Forces|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=14 March 2014}} Some Crimeans were simply "disappeared" with no explanation.

On 9 May 2014, the new "anti-extremist" amendment to the Criminal Code of Russia, passed in December 2013, came into force. Article 280.1 designated incitement of violation of territorial integrity of the Russian Federation[http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_156577/#p21 Федеральный закон от 28 December 2013 N 433-ФЗ "О внесении изменения в Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации"] {{in lang|ru}} [Federal Law of 28 December 2013 No. 433-FZ "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation"] (incl. calls for secession of Crimea from Russia{{cite web|author=Автор статьи: Мария Макутина|url=http://rbcdaily.ru/politics/562949990932895|title=За призывы вернуть Крым Украине можно будет лишиться свободы сроком до пяти лет – РБК daily|trans-title=For calls to return the Crimea to Ukraine, it will be possible to lose freedom for up to five years– RBC daily|website=Rbcdaily.ru|access-date=1 April 2014}}) as a criminal offense in Russia, punishable by a fine of 300 thousand roubles or imprisonment up to 3 years. If such statements are made in public media or the internet, the punishment could be obligatory works up to 480 hours or imprisonment up to five years.

File:Concert «Crimean spring. Five years in his native Harbor» 10.jpg, Crimea, 18 March 2019]]

Prior to Russian occupation, support for joining Russia was 23% in a 2013 poll, down from 33% in 2011.{{cite web|title=Public Opinion Survey Residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea May 16 – 30, 2013|url=https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/2013%20October%207%20Survey%20of%20Crimean%20Public%20Opinion,%20May%2016-30,%202013.pdf|website=International Republican Institute|access-date=31 January 2022|page=17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412004739/https://www.iri.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/iri.org/2013%20October%207%20Survey%20of%20Crimean%20Public%20Opinion,%20May%2016-30,%202013.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2022|url-status=live}} A joint survey by American government agency Broadcasting Board of Governors and polling firm Gallup was taken during April 2014. It polled 500 residents of Crimea. The survey found that 82.8% of those polled believed that the results of the Crimean status referendum reflected the views of most residents of Crimea, whereas 6.7% said that it did not. 73.9% of those polled said that they thought that the annexation would have a positive impact on their lives, whereas 5.5% said that it would not. 13.6% said that they did not know.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbg.gov/wp-content/media/2014/06/Ukraine-slide-deck.pdf|title=News-gathering and policy perceptions in Ukraine|publisher=Broadcasting Board of Governors|date=3 June 2014|access-date=23 March 2015}}

A comprehensive poll released on 8 May 2014 by the Pew Research Centre surveyed local opinions on the annexation.{{cite press release|url = http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2014/05/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Ukraine-Russia-Report-FINAL-May-8-2014.pdf|title = Despite Concerns about Governance, Ukrainians Want to Remain One Country|publisher=Pew Research Centre|date=8 May 2014|access-date=8 May 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140509001422/http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2014/05/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Ukraine-Russia-Report-FINAL-May-8-2014.pdf|archive-date=9 May 2014}} Despite international criticism of 16 March referendum on Crimean status, 91% of those Crimeans polled thought that the vote was free and fair, and 88% said that the Ukrainian government should recognise the results.

In a survey completed in 2019 by a Russian company FOM 72% of surveyed Crimean residents said their lives have improved since annexation. At the same time only 39% Russians living in the mainland said the annexation was beneficial for the country as a whole which marks a significant drop from 67% in 2015.{{cite web|url = https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/03/15/russians-conflicted-over-crimea-annexations-value-a64817|title=Russians Conflicted Over Crimea Annexation's Value|author=The Moscow Times|date=15 March 2019|website=The Moscow Times|access-date=17 March 2019}}

Whilst the Russian government actively cited local opinion polls to argue that the annexation was legitimate (i.e. supported by the population of the territory in question),{{cite journal|last1=O'Loughlin|first1=John|last2=Toal|first2=Gerard|date=28 February 2019|title=The Crimea conundrum: legitimacy and public opinion after annexation|journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics|volume=60|pages=6–27|doi=10.1080/15387216.2019.1593873|doi-access=free}}{{Cite news|last1=Toal|first1=Gerard|last2=O'Loughlin|first2=John|last3=Bakke|first3=Kristin M.|date=18 March 2020|title=Analysis {{!}} Six years and $20 billion in Russian investment later, Crimeans are happy with Russian annexation|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/18/six-years-20-billion-russian-investment-later-crimeans-are-happy-with-russian-annexation/|access-date=29 December 2020|issn=0190-8286}} some authors have cautioned against using surveys concerning identities and support for the annexation conducted in "oppressive political environment" of Russian-held Crimea.{{cite journal|last=Charron|first=Austin|date=2016|title=Whose is Crimea? Contested Sovereignty and Regional Identity|journal=Region|volume=5|issue=2|pages=225–256|issn=2166-4307|jstor=24896628}}{{Cite book|last=Knott|first=Eleanor|title=Kin majorities: identity and citizenship in Crimea and Moldova|date=2022|isbn=978-0-2280-1150-7|location=Montreal|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|oclc=1280277016}}

{{See also|Do not buy Russian goods!|Boycott Russian Films|Putin khuylo!|Day of Resistance to Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol}}

Immediately after the treaty of accession was signed in March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Provisional Principal of Russia in Ukraine to present note verbale of protest against Russia's recognition of the Republic of Crimea and its subsequent annexation.{{cite web|url=http://www.unn.com.ua/ru/news/1318642-mzs-viklikalo-timchasovogo-povirenogo-u-spravakh-rf-v-ukrayini-dlya-vruchennya-noti-protestu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319072412/http://www.unn.com.ua/ru/news/1318642-mzs-viklikalo-timchasovogo-povirenogo-u-spravakh-rf-v-ukrayini-dlya-vruchennya-noti-protestu|archive-date=19 March 2014|script-title=ru:МИД вызвал Временного поверенного в делах РФ в Украине для вручения ноты-протеста|trans-title=The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Federation in Ukraine to present a protest note|date=18 March 2014|publisher=unn.com.ua|language=ru}} Two days later, the Verkhovna Rada condemned the treaty{{cite web|url=http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1139-18|script-title=uk:Декларація "Про боротьбу за звільнення України"|trans-title=Declaration "On the Struggle for the Liberation of Ukraine"|publisher=Verkhovna Rada|language=uk |work=Законодавство України }} and called Russia's actions "a gross violation of international law". The Rada called on the international community to avoid recognition of the "so-called Republic of Crimea" or the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia as new federal subjects.

On 15 April 2014, the Verkhovna Rada declared the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to be under "provisional occupation" by the Russian military{{cite web|url=http://iportal.rada.gov.ua/news/Novyny/Povidomlennya/91559.html|script-title=uk:Верховна Рада України ухвалила Закон "Про забезпечення прав і свобод громадян та правовий режим на тимчасово окупованій території України"|trans-title=The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law "On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine"|date=15 April 2014|publisher=Verkhovna Rada|language=uk|access-date=30 April 2014|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924132545/https://iportal.rada.gov.ua/news/Novyny/Povidomlennya/91559.html}} and imposed travel restrictions on Ukrainians visiting Crimea.{{cite news|title=Ukraine Parliament declares Crimea temporarily occupied territory|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/ukraine-parliament-declares-crimea-temporarily-occupied-territory/|agency=Indo-Asian News Service|website=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=15 April 2014}} The territories were also deemed "inalienable parts of Ukraine" subject to Ukrainian law. Among other things, the special law approved by the Rada restricted foreign citizens' movements to and from the Crimean Peninsula and forbade certain types of entrepreneurship.{{cite web|url=http://rada.gov.ua/ru/news/Novosty/Soobshchenyya/91573.html|script-title=ru:Верховная Рада Украины приняла Закон "Об обеспечении прав и свобод граждан и правовом режиме на временно оккупированной территории Украины"|trans-title=The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law "On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine"|date=15 April 2014|publisher=Verkhovna Rada|language=ru|access-date=30 April 2014|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925100215/http://rada.gov.ua/ru/news/Novosty/Soobshchenyya/91573.html}} The law also forbade activity of government bodies formed in violation of Ukrainian law and designated their acts as null and void.{{cite news|url = http://www.vz.ru/news/2014/4/15/682175.html|script-title=ru:Рада приняла закон о защите прав граждан "оккупированного Крыма"|trans-title=The Rada adopted a law on the protection of the rights of citizens of the "occupied Crimea"|date=15 April 2014|website=Vzglyad|language=ru}}{{Better source needed|date=June 2021|reason=Vzglyad is unreliable in this page. See Wikipedia:New_page_patrol_source_guide#Russia}}

File:Nord-Krim-Kanal.png, which provided 85% of Crimea's drinking water.{{cite news|title=Dam leaves Crimea population in chronic water shortage|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/1/4/dam-leaves-crimea-population-in-chronic-water-shortage|work=Al-Jazeera|date=4 January 2017}}]]

Ukrainian authorities greatly reduced the volume of water flowing into Crimea via the North Crimean Canal due to huge debt for water supplied in the previous year, threatening the viability of the peninsula's agricultural crops, which are heavily dependent on irrigation.{{cite news|date=25 April 2014|access-date=26 April 2014|title=Russia fears Crimea water shortage as supply drops|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27155885|work=BBC News}}{{cite news|title=Pray For Rain: Crimea's Dry-Up A Headache For Moscow, Dilemma For Kyiv|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/pray-for-rain-crimea-s-dry-up-a-headache-for-moscow-dilemma-for-kyiv/30515986.html|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=29 March 2020}}

The Ukrainian National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting instructed all cable operators on 11 March 2014 to stop transmitting a number of Russian channels, including the international versions of the main state-controlled stations, Russia-1, Channel One and NTV, as well as news channel Russia-24.{{cite web|last=Ennis|first=Stephen|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26546083|title=Ukraine hits back at Russian TV onslaught|publisher=BBC|date=12 March 2014|access-date=20 April 2014}}

In March 2014, activists began organising flash mobs in supermarkets to urge customers not to buy Russian goods and to boycott Russian gas stations, banks, and concerts. In April 2014, some cinemas in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa began shunning Russian films.{{Cite web|last=Цензор.НЕТ|date=2014-04-11|title=Некоторые кинотеатры Киева, Львова и Одессы объявили бойкот российской кинопродукции|trans-title=Some cinemas in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa announced a boycott of Russian film production|url=https://censor.net/ru/news/280504/nekotorye_kinoteatry_kieva_lvova_i_odessy_obyavili_boyikot_rossiyiskoyi_kinoproduktsii|access-date=2023-06-05|website=Цензор.НЕТ|language=ru-UA}}

On 2 December 2014, Ukraine created a Ministry of Information Policy, with one of its goals being, according to first Minister of Information, Yuriy Stets, to counteract "Russian information aggression".{{cite news|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/journalists-media-rights-activists-demand-abolishing-of-newly-formed-ministry-of-truth-374003.html|title=Journalists, free speech activists demand abolishing of newly-formed 'Ministry of Truth'|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=4 December 2014|access-date=1 January 2016}}

In December 2014, Ukraine halted all train and bus services to Crimea.{{cite news|date=8 January 2015|title=Ukraine conflict: Crimea hit by shortages|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30713665|work=BBC News}}

On 16 September 2015, the Ukrainian parliament voted for the law that sets 20 February 2014 as the official date of the Russian temporary occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.[https://web.archive.org/web/20151007142812/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/290389.html Rada names 20 February 2014 as official date of Crimea, Sevastopol occupation by Russia]. Interfax Ukraine. 16 September 2015[http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/rada-names-feb-20-2014-as-official-date-of-crimea-sevastopol-occupation-by-russia-397964.html Rada names 20 Feb. 2014 as official date of Crimea, Sevastopol occupation by Russia]. Kyiv Post. 15 September 2015 On 7 October 2015, the president of Ukraine signed the law into force.[http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-politycs/1894498-prezident-viznav-20-lyutogo-ofitsiynoyu-datoyu-okupatsiji-krimu.html President recognised 20 February as the official date of Crimean occupation]. Ukrinform. 7 October 2015

The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs was established by the Ukrainian government on 20 April 2016 to manage occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea regions affected by Russian military intervention of 2014.{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/04/20/7106169/ The Cabinet decided to create the Ministry of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons], Ukrayinska Pravda (20 April 2016) By 2015, the number of IDPs registered in Ukraine who had fled from Russian-occupied Crimea was 50,000.{{Cite web|title=Years After Crimea's Annexation, Integration of Ukraine's Internally Displaced Population Remains Uneven – Ukraine|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/years-after-crimea-s-annexation-integration-ukraine-s-internally-displaced-population|access-date=14 March 2022|website=ReliefWeb|date=19 September 2019}}

{{See also|Crimean speech of Vladimir Putin|2022 Moscow rally}}

File:Марш за мир и свободу (2).jpg, which took place in Moscow a day before the Crimean referendum|248x248px]]

In a poll published on 24 February 2014 by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center, only 15% of those Russians polled said 'yes' to the question: "Should Russia react to the overthrow of the legally elected authorities in Ukraine?"{{cite magazine|url = https://time.com/11952/putin-ukraine-crimea-russia/|title = 4 Reasons Putin Is Already Losing in Ukraine|magazine=Time|date=3 March 2014}}

The State Duma Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, headed by Leonid Slutsky, visited Simferopol on 25 February 2014 and said: "If the parliament of the Crimean autonomy or its residents express the wish to join the Russian Federation, Russia will be prepared to consider this sort of application. We will be examining the situation and doing so fast".{{cite web|last=Rothkopf|first=David|url = https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/02/25/all-not-quiet-on-ukraines-eastern-front/|title=All (Not) Quiet on Ukraine's Eastern Front|work=Foreign policy|date=25 February 2014}} They also stated that in the event of a referendum for the Crimea region joining the Russian Federation, they would consider its results "very fast".{{cite news|title=Российские паспорта и присоединение к РФ: Депутаты Госдумы прибыли в Крым (Rossiyskiye pasporta i prisoyedineniye k RF: Deputaty Gosdumy pribyli v Krym)|trans-title=Russian passports and joining Russia: State Duma deputies arrived in Crimea|url = http://gordonua.com/news/politics/Rossiyskie-pasporta-i-prisoedinenie-k-RF-Deputaty-Gosdumy-pribyli-v-Krym-11430.html|language=uk|newspaper=Gordonua|date=25 February 2014}} Later Slutsky announced that he was misunderstood by the Crimean press, and no decision regarding simplifying the process of acquiring Russian citizenship for people in Crimea had been made yet.{{cite news|title = В Госдуме опровергли данные о выдаче паспортов РФ жителям Крыма (V Gosdume oprovergli dannyye o vydache pasportov RF zhitelyam Kryma)|trans-title=The State Duma has denied information about issuing passports to residents of Crimea RF|url = http://www.aif.ru/euromaidan/uanews/1112843|language=uk|newspaper=Argumenty i Fakty|date=25 February 2014}} He also added that if "fellow Russian citizens are in jeopardy, you understand that we do not stay away".{{cite web|language=uk|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/25/7016276/|title=Росія обіцяє втрутитися, якщо росіянам в Україні буде загроза (Rosiya obitsyaye vtrutytysya, yakshcho rosiyanam v Ukrayini bude zahroza)|trans-title=Russia promises to intervene if the Russians in Ukraine threatened|work=Українська правда (Ukrayins'ka pravda) [Ukrainian Pravda]|location=UA|date=25 February 2014}} On 25 February, in a meeting with Crimean politicians, he stated that Viktor Yanukovych was still the legitimate president of Ukraine.{{cite web|url = http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/25/7016292/|title=У Росії Януковича все ще вважають президентом – Слуцький (U Rosiyi Yanukovycha vse shche vvazhayut' prezydentom – Sluts'kyy)|trans-title=In Russia Yanukovych's still the president – Slutsky|work=Українська правда (Ukrayins'ka pravda) [Ukrainian Pravda]|location=UA|date=25 February 2014}} That same day, the Russian Duma announced it was determining measures so that Russians in Ukraine who "did not want to break from the Russian World" could acquire Russian citizenship.{{cite web|url=http://www.interfax.ru/world/361055|title=Госдума России обсуждает меры по защите крымчан (Gosduma Rossii obsuzhdayet mery po zashchite krymchan)|trans-title=Russian State Duma discusses measures to protect the Crimean|publisher=Интерфакс (Interfax)|location=RU}}

On 26 February, Russian president Vladimir 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". Despite media speculation that this was in reaction to the events in Ukraine, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said it was for reasons separate from the unrest in Ukraine.{{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}} On 27 February 2014, the Russian government dismissed accusations that it was in violation of the basic agreements regarding the Black Sea Fleet: "All movements of armored vehicles are undertaken in full compliance with the basic agreements and did not require any approvals".{{cite news|url = http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/27/7016538/|title=Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the movement of armored vehicles in Crimea|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|date=27 February 2014}}

On 27 February, the Russian governing agencies presented the new law project on granting citizenship.{{Cite news|date=28 February 2014|title=Ukraine crisis: Russia mulls new land-grab law|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26381454|access-date=19 June 2021}}

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the West and particularly NATO to "abandon the provocative statements and respect the neutral status of Ukraine".{{cite news|url = http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/27/7016548/|title = MID of Russia made another statement on Ukraine: militants, NATO, provocations|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|date=27 February 2014}} In its statement, the ministry claims that the agreement on settlement of the crisis, which was signed on 21 February and was witnessed by foreign ministries from Germany, Poland and France had to this date, not been implemented (Vladimir Lukin from Russia had not signed it{{cite news|url = http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/tensions-high-at-kyiv-protest-camp-despite-ground-breaking-deal-1.1697154|title=Tensions high at Kiev protest camp despite ground-breaking deal|publisher=CTV News|date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/tensions-high-at-kyiv-protest-camp-despite-ground-breaking-deal-1.1697154|archive-date=1 December 2008}}).

On 28 February, according to ITAR-TASS, the Russian Ministry of Transport discontinued further talks with Ukraine in regards to the Crimean Bridge project.{{cite news|url = http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-abroad/1625012-rosiya_pripinila_peregovori_z_ukraiinoyu_za_proektom_kerchenskogo_mostu_1912965.html|title=Russia has suspended negotiations with Ukraine on the project of Kerch bridge|agency=Ukrinform|date=28 February 2014}} However, on 3 March Dmitry Medvedev, then Prime Minister of Russia, signed a decree creating a subsidiary of Russian Highways (Avtodor) to build a bridge at an unspecified location along the Kerch Strait.{{Cite web|date=3 March 2014|title=Medvedev Signs Decree Creating Contractor for Kerch Strait Bridge Project|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/03/03/medvedev-signs-decree-creating-contractor-for-kerch-strait-bridge-project-a32624|website=The Moscow Times}}{{cite news|date=3 March 2014|title=Медведев распорядился создать компанию для строительства моста через Керченский пролив|language=ru|trans-title=Medvedev ordered to create a company to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait|newspaper=TV Rain|location=Russia|url=https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/novosti_sajta/medvedev_rasporjadilsja_sozdat_kompaniju_dlja_stroitelstva_mosta_cherez_kerchenskij_proliv-364255/}}{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title= Kerch Dam|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/kerch-dam/?version=sixty-minutes/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}}

On Russian social networks, there was a movement to gather volunteers who served in the Russian army to go to Ukraine.{{cite news|url = http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/28/7016603/|title = In Russia there are gathering "tourists" to Ukraine who served in the military|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|date=28 February 2014}} Many political researchers consider that after the annexation a social period in Russia coined as "Crimean consensus" begun, during which the "Rally 'round the flag" effect was observed in the population.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-30 |title=After the Crimean Consensus - The American Interest |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/01/02/after-the-crimean-consensus/ |access-date=2024-11-20 |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130172251/https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/01/02/after-the-crimean-consensus/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}

On 28 February, President Putin stated in telephone calls with key EU leaders that it was of "extreme importance of not allowing a further escalation of violence and the necessity of a rapid normalisation of the situation in Ukraine".{{cite news|title=Ukraine crisis live: Russia admits its troops are moving in Crimea|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10666893/Ukraine-crisis-live-President-Barack-Obama-warns-of-costs-for-any-violation-of-Ukraine.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10666893/Ukraine-crisis-live-President-Barack-Obama-warns-of-costs-for-any-violation-of-Ukraine.html|archive-date=11 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=28 February 2014|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}} Already on 19 February the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had referred to the Euromaidan revolution as the "Brown revolution".{{cite news|url=http://lenta.ru/news/2014/02/19/brown/|title=Russian Foreign Ministry called the Ukrainian revolution "brown"|newspaper=lenta.ru|location=RU|date=19 February 2014}}{{cite news|url = http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2014/02/19/7014748/|title=Russian Foreign Ministry: In Ukraine the "brown" revolution, we will apply all the influence|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|place=UA|date=19 February 2014}}

In Moscow, on 2 March, an estimated 27,000 rallied in support of the Russian government's decision to intervene in Ukraine.{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0302/Vladimir-Putin-sees-small-protests-mass-support-for-troops-in-Ukraine-video|title=Vladimir Putin sees small protests, mass support for troops in Ukraine (+video)|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=2 March 2014}} The rallies received considerable attention on Russian state TV and were officially approved by the government.

Meanwhile, on 1 March, five people who were picketing next to the Federation Council building against the invasion of Ukraine were arrested.{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.ua/politics/891669-u-rosiji-zatrimali-aktivistiv-yaki-protestuvali-proti-viyni-z-ukrajinoyu.html|title=In Russia were detained activists who protested against the war with Ukraine|agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|date=1 March 2014}} The next day about 200 people protested at the building of the Russian Ministry of Defence in Moscow against Russian military involvement.{{cite web|url = http://www.utro.ru/articles/2014/03/02/1179378.shtml|title = На антивоенных акциях в Москве задержаны 300 человек (Na antivoyennykh aktsiyakh v Moskve zaderzhany 300 chelovek)| date=2 March 2014|trans-title=At the anti-war actions in Moscow detained 300 people|publisher=Utro|location=RU|language=ru|access-date=2 March 2014}} About 500 people also gathered to protest on the Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, and the same number of people on the Saint Isaac's Square in Saint Petersburg.{{cite web|url=http://investigator.org.ua/news/120579/|title = В Москве и Перебурге проходят митинги против российской оккупации Крыма. Уже есть задержанные (V Moskve i Peterburge prokhodyat mitingi protiv rossiyskoy okkupatsii Kryma. Uzhe yest' zaderzhannyye)|date = 2 March 2014|trans-title=In Moscow and St. Petersburg rallies against the Russian occupation of the Crimea. Already have detained|language=ru|publisher=Центр журналистских расследований (Tsentr zhurnalistskikh rassledovaniy) [Center for Investigative Journalism]|access-date=2 March 2014}} On 2 March, about eleven protesters demonstrated in Yekaterinburg against Russian involvement, with some wrapped in the Ukrainian flag.{{cite web|url=http://www.kp.ru/online/news/1674924/|title=Жители Екатеринбурга провели пикеты против ввода российских войск в Крым (Zhiteli Yekaterinburga proveli pikety protiv vvoda rossiyskikh voysk v Krym)|trans-title=Inhabitants of Ekaterinburg picketed against Russian troops in the Crimea|work=Komsomolskaya Pravda|date=2 March 2014|location=RU|language=ru|access-date=2 March 2014}} Protests were also held in Chelyabinsk on the same day.{{cite web|url = http://ura.ru/news/1052176002|title="Сколько детей ты готов похоронить, чтобы Крым стал частью России?" Первые антивоенные пикеты прошли на Урале ("Skol'ko detey ty gotov pokhoronit', chtoby Krym stal chast'yu Rossii?" Pervyye antivoyennyye pikety proshli na Urale)|date=2 March 2014|trans-title="How many children are you willing to bury to Crimea became part of Russia?" First anti-war pickets were held in the Urals|publisher=Ura|location=RU|language=ru|access-date=2 March 2014}} Opposition to the military intervention was also expressed by rock musician Andrey Makarevich, who wrote in particular: "You want war with Ukraine? It will not be the way it was with Abkhazia: the folks on the Maidan have been hardened and know what they are fighting for – for their country, their independence. ... We have to live with them. Still neighborly. And preferably in friendship. But it's up to them how they want to live".{{cite web|date=4 March 2014|title=Не стреляй! Антивоенные реплики Юрия Шевчука, Бориса Гребенщикова, Андрея Макаревича|trans-title=Do not shoot! Antiwar remarks by Yuri Shevchuk, Boris Grebenshchikov, Andrey Makarevich|url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2014/03/04/58605-ne-strelyay-antivoennye-repliki-yuriya-shevchuka-borisa-grebenschikova-andreya-makarevicha|access-date=4 March 2014|work=Novaya Gazeta|language=ru}} The Professor of the Department of Philosophy at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Andrey Zubov was fired for his article in Vedomosti, criticising Russian military intervention.{{cite news|last=Bershidsky|first=Leonid|author-link=Leonid Bershidsky|date=25 March 2014|title=Comparing Putin to Hitler Will Get You Fired|work=Bloomberg News|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|url=http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-03-25/comparing-putin-to-hitler-will-get-you-fired|access-date=25 March 2014}}

On 2 March, one Moscow resident protested against Russian intervention by holding a "Stop the war" banner, but he was immediately harassed by passers-by. Police then proceeded to arrest him. A woman came forward with a fabricated charge against him, of beating up a child; however, her claim, due to lack of a victim and obviously false, was ignored by the police.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26531310|title=Ukraine crisis: Russians opposed to Putin|work=BBC News Magazine|date=12 March 2014}} Andrei Zubov, a professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, who compared Russian actions in Crimea to the 1938 Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, was threatened. Alexander Chuyev, the leader of the pro-Kremlin Spravedlivaya Rossiya party, also objected to Russian intervention in Ukraine. Boris Akunin, a popular Russian writer, predicted that Russia's moves would lead to political and economic isolation.

File:Vladimir Putin answered journalists’ questions on the situation in Ukraine (2014-03-04).jpeg (seated, middle) speaks to the press on 4 March 2014, denouncing the Revolution of Dignity as an "unconstitutional coup", and insisting that Moscow has a right to protect Russians in Ukraine.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/putin-reserves-the-right-to-use-force-in-ukraine/2014/03/04/92d4ca70-a389-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html|title=Putin defends Ukraine stance, cites lawlessness|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=4 March 2014}}]]

President Putin's approval rating among the Russian public increased by nearly 10% since the crisis began, up to 71.6%, the highest in three years, according to a poll conducted by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, released on 19 March.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/03/18/crimea-ukraine-putin-russia/6564263/|title=Putin's move on Crimea bolsters popularity back home|newspaper=USA Today|date=19 March 2014|access-date=20 March 2014}}{{cite news|first=Alec|last=Luhn|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/18/red-square-rally-vladimir-putin-crimea|title=Red Square rally hails Vladimir Putin after Crimea accession|work=The Guardian|location=Moscow|date=18 March 2014|access-date=14 April 2016}} Additionally, the same poll showed that more than 90% of Russians supported unification with the Crimean Republic. According to a 2021 study in the American Political Science Review, "three quarters of those who rallied to Putin after Russia annexed Crimea were engaging in at least some form of dissembling and that this rallying developed as a rapid cascade, with social media joining television in fueling perceptions this was socially desirable".{{cite journal|last=Hale|first=Henry E.|date=2021|title=Authoritarian Rallying as Reputational Cascade? Evidence from Putin's Popularity Surge after Crimea|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=116|issue=2|pages=580–594|doi=10.1017/S0003055421001052|s2cid=239196888|issn=0003-0554|doi-access=free}}

On 4 March, at a press conference in Novo-Ogaryovo, President Putin expressed his view on the situation that if a revolution took place in Ukraine, it would be a new country with which Russia had not concluded any treaties.{{cite news|url=http://dt.ua/POLITICS/putin-podilyaye-dumku-scho-yakscho-v-ukrayini-revolyuciya-to-na-yiyi-teritoriyi-vzhe-nova-derzhava-138899_.html|title=Putin shares the view that if in Ukraine "revolution" – then on its territory is a new state|newspaper=Mirror Weekly|date=4 March 2014}} He offered an analogy with the events of 1917 in Russia, when as a result of the revolution the Russian Empire fell apart and a new state was created. However, he stated Ukraine would still have to honour its debts.

File:Celebrating Victory Day and the 70th anniversary of Sevastopol’s liberation (2493-24).jpg

Russian politicians speculated that there were already 143,000 Ukrainian refugees in Russia.{{cite web|url=http://www.9news.com.au/world/2014/03/02/07/46/russia-claims-thousands-fleeing-ukraine|title=Russia claims thousands fleeing Ukraine|newspaper=Nine MSN|location=AU|date=2 March 2014}} The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted those claims of refugee increases in Russia.{{cite news|url=http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-society/1627698-mzs_ukraiini_sprostuvalo_zrostannya_kilkosti_bigentsiv_do_rosiii_1914722.html|title=мзс україні спростувало зростання кількості бігентсив до росії (MZS Ukrayini sprostuvalo zrostannya kil'kosti bihent·syv do rosiyi)|trans-title=Ukraine Foreign Ministry refuted the growing number of refugees in Russia|agency=Ukrinform|date=4 March 2014}} At a briefing on 4 March 2014, the director of the department of information policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebiynis said that Russia was misinforming its own citizens as well as the entire international community to justify its own actions in the Crimea.{{cite news|url=http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-abroad/1627705-mzs_putin_prodovgue__dezinformuvati_uves_svit_zaradi_vipravdannya_svoiih_diy_1914726.html|place=UA|title=мзс путін продовґуе дезінформувати весь світ заради виправдання своїх дії (MZS Putin prodovgue dezinformuvaty ves' svit zarady vypravdannya svoyikh diyi)|trans-title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Putin continues to mislead the whole world for justification of own actions|agency=Ukrinform|date=4 March 2014}}

On 5 March, an anchor of the Russian-controlled TV channel RT America, Abby Martin, criticized her employer's biased coverage of the military invervention.{{Cite web|date=5 March 2014|title=Russia Today presenter hits out at Moscow over Ukraine|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/russia-today-abby-martin-crimea-ukraine|access-date=19 June 2021|website=The Guardian}}{{cite video|title=Abby Martin: Russia Today supports me|url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2014/03/05/pmt-intv-martin-russia-critique.cnn|publisher=CNN|date=5 March 2014}} Also on 5 March 2014, another RT America anchor, Liz Wahl, of the network's Washington, DC bureau, resigned on air, explaining that she could not be "part of a network that whitewashes the actions of Putin" and citing her Hungarian ancestry and the memory of the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Uprising as a factor in her decision.{{cite web|last=Kirchick|first=James|title=Exclusive: RT Anchor Liz Wahl Explains Why She Quit|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=6 March 2014|date=5 March 2014|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/05/exclusive-rt-today-anchor-liz-wahl-explains-why-she-quit.html}}

In early March, Igor Andreyev, a 75-year-old survivor of the Siege of Leningrad, attended an anti-war rally against the Russian intervention in Crimea and was holding a sign that read "Peace to the World". The riot police arrested him, and a local pro-government lawyer then accused him of being a supporter of "fascism". The retiree, who lived on a 6,500-ruble monthly pension, was fined 10,000 rubles.{{cite web|last=Dolgov|first=Anna|date=7 March 2014|title=Leningrad Blockade Survivor Arrested, Fined For Anti-War Protest|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/03/07/leningrad-blockade-survivor-arrested-fined-for-anti-war-protest-a32780|work=The Moscow Times}}

Prominent dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky said that Crimea should stay within Ukraine with broader autonomy.{{cite news|url=http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=487296|title=Khodorkovsky: Crimea should stay within Ukraine with broad autonomous status|agency=Interfax|date=10 March 2014|access-date=10 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402145602/http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=487296}}

Tatarstan, a republic within Russia populated by Volga Tatars, has sought to alleviate concerns about the treatment of Tatars by Russia, as Tatarstan is an oil-rich and economically successful republic in Russia.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/03/crimea-crisis-tatarstan-factor-2014314143349496558.html|title=Crimea crisis: The Tatarstan factor|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=20 April 2014}} On 5 March, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov signed an agreement on co-operation between Tatarstan and the Aksyonov government in Crimea that implied collaboration between ten government institutions as well as significant financial aid to Crimea from Tatarstan businesses. On 11 March, Minnikhanov was in Crimea on his second visit and attended as a guest in the Crimean parliament chamber during the vote on the declaration of sovereignty pending 16 March referendum. The Tatarstan's Mufti Kamil Samigullin invited Crimean Tatars to study in madrasas in Kazan, and declared support for their "brothers in faith and blood". Mustafa Dzhemilev, a former leader of the Crimean Tatar Majlis, believed that forces that were suspected to be Russian forces should leave the Crimean Peninsula, and asked the UN Security Council to send peacekeepers into the region.{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-crimean-tatar-un-peacekeepers/25317014.html|title=Crimean Tatar Leader Calls For UN Peacekeeping Troops|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=1 April 2014|access-date=3 January 2016}}

File:2015. Керчь 355.jpg, Crimea, 2015]]

On 15 March, thousands of protesters (estimates varying from 3,000 by official sources up to 50,000 claimed by the opposition) in Moscow marched against Russian involvement in Ukraine, many waving Ukrainian flags.{{cite news|author1=Huw Griffith|author2= Anna Malpas|url=https://news.yahoo.com/thousands-moscow-protest-russias-action-crimea-003037662.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315144618/http://news.yahoo.com/thousands-moscow-protest-russias-action-crimea-003037662.html|title=50,000 rally in Moscow against Crimea intervention|date=15 March 2014|archive-date=15 March 2014|work=Yahoo News|agency=Agence France-Presse}} At the same time, a pro-government (and pro-referendum) rally occurred across the street, counting in the thousands as well (officials claiming 27,000 with the opposition claiming about 10,000).

In February 2015, the leading independent Russian newspaper {{Lang|ru-latn|Novaya Gazeta}} obtained documents,{{cite news|author=Lipsky|first=Andrey|date=24 February 2015|title="Представляется правильным инициировать присоединение восточных областей Украины к России"|language=ru|trans-title=«It seems right to initiate the accession of eastern regions of Ukraine to Russia»|work=Novaya Gazeta|issue=19|url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/02/24/63168-171-predstavlyaetsya-pravilnym-initsiirovat-prisoedinenie-vostochnyh-oblastey-ukrainy-k-rossii-187|access-date=1 January 2016}} allegedly written by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev and others, which provided the Russian government with a strategy in the event of Viktor Yanukovych's removal from power and the break-up of Ukraine, which were considered likely. The documents outline plans for annexation of Crimea and the eastern portions of the country, closely describing the events that actually followed after Yanukovych's fall. The documents also describe plans for a public relations campaign that would seek to justify Russian actions.{{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}}{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/ukraine-rebels-agree-to-begin-withdrawing-weapons/2653786.html|title=Report to Allege Direct Kremlin Link to Ukraine Invasion|publisher=Voice of America|date=15 February 2014|access-date=24 February 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.inquisitr.com/1866019/world-war-3-vladimir-putin-plotted-ukraine-invasion-early-as-february-2014-new-report-says/|title=World War 3: Vladimir Putin Plotted Ukraine Invasion Early As February 2014, New Report Says|website=Inquisitr.com|date=22 February 2015|access-date=24 February 2015}}

In June 2015 Mikhail Kasyanov stated that all Russian Duma decisions on Crimea annexation were illegal from the international point of view and the annexation was provoked by false accusations of discrimination of Russian nationals in Ukraine.{{cite news|author=Mikhail Sokolov|newspaper=Радио Свобода|url=http://www.svoboda.org/content/transcript/27066473.html|script-title=ru:Михаил Касьянов: "Все решения по Крыму незаконны"|trans-title=Mikhail Kasyanov: "All decisions about Crimea are unlawful"|language=ru|publisher=Radio Svoboda|date=12 June 2015|access-date=3 January 2016}}

As of January 2019, Arkady Rotenberg through his Stroygazmontazh LLC and his companies building the Crimean Bridge along with Nikolai Shamalov and Yuri Kovalchuk through their Rossiya Bank have become the most important investors in Russia's development of the annexed Crimea.{{cite news|last=Vasiliev|first=Andrey|date=25 January 2019|title=После Ротенберга хоть камни с неба. Как Крым стал прибыльным бизнесом для друзей Путина|language=ru|trans-title=After Rotenberg, even stones from the sky. How Crimea became a profitable business for Putin's friends|work=The Insider|url=https://theins.ru/korrupciya/137605|url-status=live|access-date=20 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128210413/https://theins.ru/korrupciya/137605|archive-date=28 November 2020}}

{{Main|International reactions to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}

{{Further|Political status of Crimea|United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262}}

{{See also|Crimea Platform}}

[[File:Crimea reaction clean.svg|thumb|International reaction to the 2014 Crimean crisis according to official governmental statements.{{NoteTag|If an official position can be sorted in more than one category, the "strongest" position was marked (from the "call for a peaceful resolution" to "interpretation as a military intervention" consecutively). For the sources see the image description.}}

{{legend|#1b6565|Condemnation of Russian actions as a military intervention or invasion}}{{legend|#289797|Condemnation of Russian actions}}{{legend|#57d2d2|Support for Ukrainian territorial integrity}}{{legend|#efef8f|Statements only voicing concern or hope for peaceful resolution to the conflict}}{{legend|#f08080|Recognition of Russian interests}}{{legend|#d93cd9|Support for Russian actions and/or condemnation of the Ukrainian interim government}}

----

{{legend|#497bd7|Ukraine}}{{legend|#6a1f1f|Russia}}{{legend|#CDCDCD|No official statements / No data available}}]]

There has been a range of international reactions to the annexation. In March 2014, the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution 100 in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation assembly that declared Crimea's Moscow-backed referendum invalid.{{cite news|last1 = Charbonneau|last2 = Donath|first1 = Mirjam|first2 = Louis|title = U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA2Q1GA20140327|work = Reuters|date = 27 March 2014|access-date = 30 June 2017|archive-date = 1 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151001105549/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA2Q1GA20140327|url-status = live}} In a move supported by the Lithuanian president,{{cite news|date=20 March 2014|title=Russia sanctions 9 US officials in response to US sanctions on Russian officials|work=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/20/obama-authorizes-new-sanctions-on-russia-over-crimea.html}} the United States government imposed sanctions against persons they deem to have violated or assisted in the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.{{cite press release|url = https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/03/06/executive-order-blocking-property-certain-persons-contributing-situation|title=Executive Order 13660 – Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine|publisher=White House Office of the Press Secretary|date=6 March 2014|access-date=6 March 2014}} The European Union suspended talks with Russia on economic and visa-related matters, and is considering more stringent sanctions against Russia in the near future, including asset freezes.{{cite news|url = https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eu-leaders-weighing-sanctions-russia-22795279|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140306170908/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eu-leaders-weighing-sanctions-russia-22795279|archive-date=6 March 2014|title = EU Slaps Initial Sanctions on Russia|agency=Associated Press|date=6 March 2014|work=ABC News|access-date=7 March 2014}}{{cite news|url = http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140304p2g00m0in014000c.html|title=Sanctions threat grows as Ukraine tensions rise|location=Japan|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=4 March 2014}}{{dead link|date=February 2016}}{{cbignore}} while Japan announced sanctions which include suspension of talks relating to military, space, investment, and visa requirements.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/japan-imposes-sanctions-against-russia-over-crimea-independence/|title=Japan imposes sanctions against Russia over Crimea independence|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=18 March 2014|access-date=20 April 2014}} The United Kingdom qualified the referendum vote in Crimea of being "farcical", "illegal" and "illegitimate".{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2014-03-14/countries-react-to-russian-intervention-in-crimea.html|title=Position of the United Kindown about the Crimean referendum|website=Bloomberg News|agency=Bloomberg|date=14 March 2014|access-date=26 July 2014}}

Ukraine and other countries claim that Russia has signed a number of treaties guaranteeing Ukrainian territorial integrity. These include the 1991 Belavezha Accords that established the Commonwealth of Independent States, the 1975 Helsinki Accords, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title= Budapest Memorandum|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/budapest-memorandum/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}} and the 1997 Treaty on friendship, cooperation and partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1139-18|author=Oleksandr Turchynov|date=20 March 2014|publisher=Parliament of Ukraine|language=uk|script-title=uk:Декларація "Про боротьбу за звільнення України"|trans-title=Declaration "On the struggle for the liberation of Ukraine"|access-date=24 April 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2014/03/19/nato-secretary-general-russias-annexation-of-crimea-is-illegal-and-illegitimate/|title=NATO Secretary-General: Russia's Annexation of Crimea Is Illegal and Illegitimate|author=Fred Dews|date=19 March 2014|access-date=8 March 2015|publisher=Brookings}}{{Cite web|date=29 March 2022|title=Treaty of Friendship|url=https://www.uawarexplained.com/russian-ukrainian-friendship-treaty/?version=tenMin/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=UaWarExplained.com}}

The European Commission decided on 11 March 2014 to enter into a full free-trade agreement with Ukraine within the year.{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Luke|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-ukraine-trade-idUSBREA2A10D20140311|title=EU to offer 500 million euros of trade benefits to Ukraine|work=Reuters|access-date=11 March 2014|archive-date=11 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311195024/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/11/us-eu-ukraine-trade-idUSBREA2A10D20140311|url-status=live}} On 12 March, the European Parliament rejected the upcoming referendum on independence in Crimea, which they saw as manipulated and contrary to international and Ukrainian law.{{cite web|url = http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20140312STO38705/html/Ukraine-MEPs-call-for-firm-action-on-Russia-to-prevent-further-escalation|title = Ukraine: MEPs call for firm action on Russia to prevent further escalation|work=European Parliament|date=12 March 2014|access-date=24 March 2015}} The G7 bloc of developed nations (the G8 minus Russia) made a joint statement condemning Russia and announced that they would suspend preparations for the planned G8 summit in Sochi in June.{{cite news|work=Political ticker|publisher=CNN|url = http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/02/lawmakers-call-for-suspension-of-russia-from-g8-swift-action-against-putin/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140303140910/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/02/lawmakers-call-for-suspension-of-russia-from-g8-swift-action-against-putin/|url-status = dead|archive-date = 3 March 2014|title=Lawmakers call for suspension of Russia from G8, swift action against Putin|type=World Wide Web log|date=2 March 2014}}{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/john-kerry-russia-putin-crimea-ukraine|title = Russia G8 status at risk over 'incredible act of aggression' in Crimea, says Kerry|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 March 2014|location=UK}} NATO condemned Russia's military escalation in Crimea and stated that it was a breach of international law{{cite web|url = http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_107681.htm|title=North Atlantic Council statement on the situation in Ukraine|website=Nato.int|access-date=3 March 2014}} while the Council of Europe expressed its full support for the territorial integrity and national unity of Ukraine.{{cite web|url = http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View-EN.asp?newsid=4908&lang=2&cat=17|title = PACE: News|website = Assembly.coe.int|date = 22 November 2013|access-date = 20 April 2014|archive-date = 19 February 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150219072453/http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View-EN.asp?newsid=4908&lang=2&cat=17}} The Visegrád Group has issued a joint statement urging Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and for Ukraine to take into account its minority groups to not further break fragile relations. It has urged for Russia to respect Ukrainian and international law and in line with the provisions of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.{{cite press release|url = http://www.kormany.hu/en/prime-minister-s-office/news/statement-of-the-prime-ministers-of-the-visegrad-countries-on-ukraine|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140305035324/http://www.kormany.hu/en/prime-minister-s-office/news/statement-of-the-prime-ministers-of-the-visegrad-countries-on-ukraine|archive-date=5 March 2014|location=Hungary|publisher=Prime Minister's Office|title=Statement of the Prime Ministers of the Visegrád Countries on Ukraine}}

China said "We respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine". A spokesman restated China's belief of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations and urged dialogue.{{cite news|last=FlorCruz|first=Jaime|title=Russia may find ally in China – albeit a passive one for now|url = http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/world/asia/china-russia-ukraine-analysis/|access-date=5 March 2014|publisher=CNN|date=6 March 2014}}{{cite news|last=Economy|first=Elizabeth|title = China's Soft 'Nyet' To Russia's Ukraine Intervention|url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabetheconomy/2014/03/05/chinas-soft-nyet-to-russias-ukraine-intervention/|access-date=5 March 2014|newspaper=Forbes|date=6 March 2014}}

The Indian government called for a peaceful resolution of the situation.{{Cite news|last=Bhattacherjee|first=Kallol|date=27 January 2017|title=Ukraine lauds India for support over Crimea|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/Ukraine-lauds-India-for-support-over-Crimea/article17098891.ece|access-date=19 June 2021|issn=0971-751X}} Both Syria and Venezuela openly support Russian military action. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said that he supports Putin's efforts to "restore security and stability in the friendly country of Ukraine", while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned Ukraine's "ultra-nationalist" coup.{{cite web|url = http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/06/bashar-al-assad-letter-of-support-to-putin/|title = Syria's Assad expresses support to Putin on Ukraine|publisher=euronews|date=18 May 2013}}{{cite web|url = http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Putin-on-Ukraine-Supported-by-5311093.php|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140313004027/http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Putin-on-Ukraine-Supported-by-5311093.php|archive-date=13 March 2014|title = Putin on Ukraine Supported by China-Syria-Venezuela Minority| work=SFGate |agency=Bloomberg News|date=12 March 2014|access-date=12 March 2014}} Sri Lanka described Yanukovych's removal as unconstitutional and considered Russia's concerns in Crimea as justified.{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/sri-lanka-regrets-removal-of-ukrainian-president-114031300031_1.html|title=Sri Lanka regrets removal of Ukrainian president|date=13 March 2014|work=Business Standard|access-date=24 March 2015}}

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk called for a change in EU energy policy as Germany's dependence on Russian gas poses risks for Europe.{{cite web| title=Tusk warns Merkel against Russian gas addiction| website=www.euractiv.com| date=11 Mar 2014| url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/tusk-warns-merkel-against-russian-gas-addiction/| access-date=25 Feb 2023}}

On 13 March 2014, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the Russian government it risks massive damage to Russia, economically and politically, if it refuses to change course on Ukraine,{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/13/russia-political-economic-damage-ukraine-merkel|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140411094020/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/13/russia-political-economic-damage-ukraine-merkel|archive-date=11 April 2014|title=Russia risks political and economic damage over Ukraine, says Merkel|work=The Guardian|date=13 March 2014}} though close economic links between Germany and Russia significantly reduce the scope for any sanctions.{{cite news|last=Bryant|first=Chris|date=27 March 2014|title=German business concerns grow over Russia ties|url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ccc5cfd8-b449-11e3-bac4-00144feabdc0.html|work=Financial Times|access-date=27 March 2014|quote = German entities have invested roughly €20bn in Russia and some 6,200 companies – mostly small and medium-sized Mittelstand businesses – are active there. Last year trade between the two countries totalled more than €76bn. ... Russia supplies 35 per cent of German gas and 30 per cent of its oil.}}

After Russia moved to formally incorporate Crimea, some worried whether it may do the same in other regions.{{cite news|last=Freeman|first=Colin|title=Russian troops poised to 'run' into Moldova, Nato commander warns|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/moldova/10717260/Russian-troops-poised-to-run-into-Moldova-Nato-commander-warns.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/moldova/10717260/Russian-troops-poised-to-run-into-Moldova-Nato-commander-warns.html|archive-date=11 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=24 March 2014|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=24 March 2014}}{{cbignore}} US deputy national security advisor Tony Blinken said that the Russian troops massed on the eastern Ukrainian border may be preparing to enter the country's eastern regions. Russian officials stated that Russian troops would not enter other areas. US Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, warned that the same troops were in a position to take over the separatist Russian-speaking Moldovan province of Transnistria. President of Moldova Nicolae Timofti warned Russia with not attempting to do this to avoid damaging its international status further.{{cite news|url=https://moldova.europalibera.org/a/25301569.html|title=Președintele Nicolae Timofti avertizează Rusia să nu încerce să anexeze regiunea transnistreană|trans-title=President Nicolae Timofti warns Russia not to try to annex the Transnistrian region|newspaper=Radio Europa Liberă Moldova|date=18 March 2014|language=ro}}{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/ro/chi%C5%9Fin%C4%83ul-vrea-s%C4%83-%C5%9Ftie-unde-se-va-opri-rusia/a-17506283|title=Chișinăul vrea să știe unde se va opri Rusia|trans-title=Chisinau wants to know where Russia will stop|first=Vitalie|last=Călugăreanu|newspaper=Deutsche Welle|date=19 March 2014|language=ro}}

On 9 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe deprived Russia of voting rights.{{cite web|author=Rfe/Rl|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-ukraine-pace-/25327665.html|title=PACE Deprives Russia of Voting Rights|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=10 April 2014|access-date=20 April 2014}}

On 14 August, while visiting Crimea, Vladimir Putin ruled out pushing beyond Crimea. He undertook to do everything he could to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying Russia needed to build calmly and with dignity, not by confrontation and war which isolated it from the rest of the world.{{cite news|title=Putin talks of peace in annexed Crimea|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-14/vladimir-putin-delivers-speech-in-crimea/5672208|date=14 August 2014|access-date=15 August 2014|publisher=ABC (AU)}}{{failed verification|date=April 2025}}

{{multiple image

| direction = vertical

| width = 300

| image1 = 2014 UN Security Council vote to condemn Crimean referendum.png

| caption1 = UN Security Council vote on a draft resolution condemning the 2014 Crimean referendum.

{{legend|#287cfe|Voted in favour of the resolution}}

{{legend|#007f00|Abstained}}

{{legend|#ff0000|Vetoed the resolution}}

| image2 = UN Resolution regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine.svg

| caption2 = UN General Assembly vote on the resolution condemning the 2014 Crimean referendum.

{{legend|#74C365|In favour of considering the referendum illegal}}

{{legend|#FADA5E|Abstained}}

{{legend|#89CFF0|Absent when the vote took place}}

{{legend|#ab4e52|Against adopting the resolution}}

}}

{{Main list|List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions}}

On 15 March 2014, a US-sponsored resolution that went to a vote in the UN Security Council to reaffirm that council's commitment to Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity" was not approved. Though a total of 13 council members voted in favour of the resolution and China abstained, Russia vetoed the resolution.{{cite news|url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/03/15/russia-vetoes-un-resolution-crimea/6456495/|title = Russia vetoes U.N. resolution on Crimea's future|agency=Associated Press|date=15 March 2014|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=28 March 2014}}

On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution describing the referendum leading to annexation of Crimea by Russia as illegal.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2014/ga11493.doc.htm|title=General Assembly Adopts Resolution Calling upon States Not to Recognize Changes in Status of Crimea Region|date=27 March 2014|publisher=United Nations|access-date=28 March 2014}} The draft resolution, which was titled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine", was co-sponsored by Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the US. It affirmed the council's commitment to the "sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders". The resolution tried to underscore that 16 March referendum held in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol has no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol. The resolution got 100 votes in its favour, while 11 nations voted against and 58 countries abstained from the vote. The resolution was non-binding and the vote was largely symbolic.{{cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26776416|title = Ukraine: UN condemns Crimea vote as IMF and US back loans|date=27 March 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=28 March 2014}}

Since 2014, the UN General Assembly has voted several times, most recently in December 2019, to affirm Ukraine's territorial integrity, condemn the 'temporary occupation' of Crimea, and reaffirm nonrecognition of its annexation.[https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/RES/74/168 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215105911/https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en%2FA%2FRES%2F74%2F168|date=15 February 2022}} on 18 December 2019], UN General Assembly

Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Sudan, Syria, and Zimbabwe have recognised the result of the 2014 referendum in Crimea.{{cite news|title=Afghan president Hamid Karzai backs Russia's annexation of Crimea|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/24/afghan-president-hamid-karzai-backs-russia-annexation-crimea|access-date=30 November 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 March 2014}}
{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/03/31/visiting-russia-fidel-castros-son-scoffs-at-us-sanctions-over-crimea-a33481|title=Visiting Russia, Fidel Castro's Son Scoffs at U.S. Sanctions Over Crimea|work=The Moscow Times|date=31 March 2014}}
{{cite news|title=Kyrgyzstan Says Crimea Referendum 'Legitimate'|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/kyrgyzstan-recognition-crimea-referendum-ukraine-russia/25304439.html|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=20 March 2014|access-date=2 June 2016}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/nicaragua-recognizes-crimea-as-part-of-russia-341102.html|title=Nicaragua recognizes Crimea as part of Russia|work=Kyiv Post|date = 27 March 2014}}
{{cite web|url = http://tass.ru/politika/4641164|title = В КНДР издали атлас мира, где Крым находится в составе России:Как пояснили посольству РФ в МИД республики, Пхеньян "уважает результаты состоявшегося в Крыму референдума о вхождении полуострова в состав Российской Федерации"|trans-title=North Korea published an atlas of the world, where Crimea is part of Russia: As the Russian Foreign Ministry explained to the Russian Embassy, Pyongyang "respects the results of the referendum held in Crimea on the peninsula joining the Russian Federation"|agency=TASS|date = 12 October 2017}}

Four non-UN member states recognised the results of the referendum: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Artsakh and Transnistria. The Transnistrian foreign minister, Nina Shtanski, recognized Crimea's annexation by Russia.{{cite web| url=https://adevarul.ro/stiri-externe/rusia/nina-stanski-ministrul-de-externe-de-la-1523321.html| title=Nina Ştanski, "ministrul de Externe" de la Tiraspol, îi cere lui Vladimir Putin să anexeze Transnistria| date=24 March 2014}} Transnistria sent a request on 18 March 2014 to join the Russian Federation following the Crimean example and in compliance with the Admission Law provisions.{{cite web|url=http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/politics/52743.html|title=Transnistria wants to merge with Russia|publisher=Vestnik Kavkaza|date=18 March 2014|access-date=18 March 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26627236|title=Moldova's Trans-Dniester region pleads to join Russia|publisher=BBC|date=18 March 2014|access-date=18 March 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://tass.ru/en/world/724121|title=Dniester public organizations ask Russia to consider possibility of Transnistria accession|agency=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia|date=18 March 2014|access-date=18 March 2014}} The regional councils of Italy's northern regions Lombardy, Liguria and Veneto adopted a non-binding resolution on recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, but they revoked it in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.{{Cite web|date=6 July 2016|title=Italian Region of Lombardy Joins Liguria and Veneto in Recognizing Crimea as Part of Russia|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2016/07/6/7113849/|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Ukrayinska Pravda}}{{cite news|title=Lombardia revoca mozione su annessione Crimea. Astuti: "C'è voluta una guerra per far ravvedere la Lega"|url=https://www.varesenoi.it/2022/03/30/leggi-notizia/argomenti/politica-20/articolo/lombardia-revoca-mozione-su-annessione-crimea-astuti-ce-voluta-una-guerra-per-far-ravvedere-la.html|access-date=13 September 2022|work=Varese Noi|date=30 March 2022|language=it-IT}}

{{Further|International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War|List of people and organizations sanctioned during the Russo-Ukrainian War}}

File:Ukrainian checkpoint for the de facto border between Kherson and Russian-occupied Crimea.jpg, entering Kherson Oblast from Russian-occupied Crimea]]

Sanctions were imposed to prevent officials and politicians from travelling to Canada, the United States, or the European Union. They were the most wide-ranging applied to Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

{{cite news

|author=Rakteem Katakey

|date=25 March 2014

|title=Russian Oil Seen Heading East Not West in Crimea Spat

|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-25/russian-oil-seen-heading-east-not-west-in-crimea-spat

|publisher=Bloomberg

|access-date=2 January 2016

}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20140320_33.aspx|title=Ukraine-related Designations: Specially Designated Nationals List Update

|work=US Department of the Treasury

|date=20 March 2014

|access-date=27 February 2016

}}

• {{cite web

|url=https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN-List/Pages/default.aspx

|title=Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN)

|work=US Department of the Treasury|date=16 February 2016

|access-date=27 February 2016

}}

• {{cite news|title=Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members of the Russian Leadership's Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement in the Situation in Ukraine

|url=http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl23331.aspx

|work=United States Treasury Department|date=20 March 2014

|access-date=20 March 2014}}{{cite web

|author=Peter Shuklinov

|script-title=ru:Ближний круг Путина: кто попал в новый список санкций США

|trans-title=Putin's inner circle: who's in the new list of US sanctions|url=https://news.liga.net/articles/politics/1066761-blizhniy_krug_putina_kto_popal_v_novyy_spisok_sanktsiy_ssha.htm|website=liga.net|language=ru

|date=21 March 2014|access-date=20 February 2016

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207152258/http://news.liga.net/articles/politics/1066761-blizhniy_krug_putina_kto_popal_v_novyy_spisok_sanktsiy_ssha.htm|archive-date=7 February 2015

}}

Japan announced milder sanctions than the US and EU. These include suspension of talks relating to military, space, investment, and visa requirements.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/japan-imposes-sanctions-against-russia-over-crimea-independence/|title=Japan imposes sanctions against Russia over Crimea independence|publisher=Fox News Channel|agency=Associated Press|date=18 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}}

In response to the sanctions introduced by the US and EU, the Russian Duma unanimously passed a resolution asking for all members of the Duma to be included on the sanctions list.

{{Cite news

|last1=Gutterman

|first1=Steve

|last2=Grove

|first2=Thomas

|last3=Tsvetkova

|first3=Maria

|last4=Piper

|first4=Elizabeth

|last5=Soldatkin

|first5=Vladimir

|date=18 March 2014

|title=Russia scoffs at Western sanctions over Crimea

|work=Reuters

|publication-place=Moscow

|editor-last=Boulton

|editor-first=Ralph

|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-russia-sanctions-idUKBREA2H1FE20140318

}} Head of the Just Russia party Sergei Mironov said he was proud of being included on the sanctions list: "It is with pride that I have found myself on the black list, this means they have noticed my stance on Crimea".

{{Cite web

|date=18 March 2014|title='I don't need a visa to hear Tupac': Russians mock sanctions

|url=https://www.channel4.com/news/russia-sanctions-ukraine-usa-eu-mocked-tupac-obama

|website=Channel 4

}} Russian companies started pulling billions of dollars out of Western banks to avoid having their asset frozen.

{{cite news

|author1=Patrick Jenkins|author2=Daniel Schäfer|author3=Courtney Weaver

|author4=Jack Farchy

|date=14 March 2014

|title=Russian companies withdraw billions from west, say Moscow bankers

|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ffea2660-ab9e-11e3-aad9-00144feab7de.html

|newspaper=Financial Times

|access-date=27 March 2014

|url-access=subscription

}}

Three days after the lists were published, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, which consisted of 10 names, including House Speaker John Boehner, Senator John McCain, and two advisers to President Obama. The ministry said in a statement: "We have repeatedly warned that sanctions are a double-edged instrument and would hit the United States like a boomerang". Several of those sanctioned responded with pride at their inclusion on the list, including John Boehner,

{{cite news

|author1=Wesley Lowery

|author2=Ed O'Keefe

|title=Reacting to sanctions, Russians ban Reid, Boehner and four other lawmakers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news`wmakers/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=20 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}} John McCain, Bob Menendez,

{{cite news

|author=Darryl Isherwood

|title=Bob Menendez is banned from Russia|url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/03/bob_menendez_is_banned_from_russia.html

|newspaper=NJ|date=20 March 2014

|access-date=2 January 2016

}} Dan Coats, Mary Landrieu, and Harry Reid.

{{cite news

|author=David Weigel

|title=Senators Celebrate Being Sanctioned by Russia

|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/03/20/senators_celebrate_being_sanctioned_by_russia.html|newspaper=Slate

|date=20 March 2014

|access-date=2 January 2016

}}

On 24 March, Russia imposed retaliatory sanctions on 13 Canadian officials including members of the Parliament of Canada,

{{cite news

|author=Steven Chase

|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/russia-bans-entry-to-13-canadians-in-retaliation-for-ottawas-sanctions/article17635115/|title=Russia imposes sanctions on 13 Canadians, including MPs|newspaper=The Globe and Mail

|date=24 March 2014

|access-date=2 January 2016

}} banning them from entering Russia. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, said the sanctions were "a badge of honour".

{{cite news

|author=Susana Mas|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/russian-sanctions-against-canadians-a-badge-of-honour-1.2584137|title=Russian sanctions against Canadians a 'badge of honour'

|date=24 March 2014

|access-date=2 January 2016

|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}} Former Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler also said that he considered the sanctions a badge of honour, not a mark of exclusion.

"The good news is that so far, Russia has shown no inclination to use the Northern Distribution Network as leverage in the wake of US retaliation for its troop movements in Crimea".

{{cite web

|author=Anna Mulrine

|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2014/0304/Punish-Russia-Why-some-Pentagon-officials-would-prefer-restraint.-video

|title=Punish Russia? Why some Pentagon officials would prefer restraint

|work=The Christian Science Monitor

|date=4 March 2014

|access-date=2 January 2016

}}

Expanded Western sanctions in mid-March coursed through financial markets, hitting the business interests of some of Russia's richest people.{{cite news|author1=Jack Farchy|author2=Neil Hume|date=21 March 2014|title=Russian share prices drop as sanctions bite|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ffba124-b0d6-11e3-9f6f-00144feab7de.html|work=Financial Times|access-date=21 March 2014|url-access=subscription}} The Americans centred on the heart of Moscow's leadership,{{cite news|author=Neil Buckley|date=21 March 2014|title=Putin feels the heat as sanctions target president's inner circle|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8859528-b11c-11e3-bbd4-00144feab7de.html|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=21 March 2014|url-access=subscription}} though the EU's initial list shied from targeting Putin's inner circle.{{cite news|author=Ian Traynor|date=22 March 2014|title=European Union prepares for trade war with Russia over Crimea|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/21/eu-mobilises-trade-war-russia-crimea-ukraine|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2 January 2016}} As ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's downgraded Russia's credit outlook,{{cite news|author=Olga Tanas|date=21 March 2014|title=Russia's Credit Outlook Cut as U.S., EU Widen Sanction Lists|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-20/russia-outlook-cut-to-negative-by-s-p-as-obama-widens-sanctions|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=2 January 2016}} Russian banks warned of a sanctions-induced recession,{{cite news|author1=Andra Timu|author2=Henry Meyer|author3=Olga Tanas|title=Russia Staring at Recession on Sanctions That Could Get Tougher|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-23/russia-staring-at-recession-on-sanctions-that-could-get-tougher.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323231710/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-23/russia-staring-at-recession-on-sanctions-that-could-get-tougher.html|archive-date=23 March 2014|agency=Bloomberg|date=23 March 2014}} the country braced for capital outflows for the first three months of 2014 to reach $70{{spaces}}billion,{{cite news|author1=Kathrin Hille|author2=Richard McGregor|date=24 March 2014|title=Russia braced for $70bn in outflows|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19b9ad88-b37c-11e3-bc21-00144feabdc0.html|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=24 March 2014|url-access=subscription}} more than the entirety of outflows for 2013,{{cite news|author1=Courtney Weaver|author2=Jack Farchy|date=25 March 2014|title=Funds cut Russian holdings after sanctions|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b67f8da4-b3f4-11e3-a102-00144feabdc0.html|work=Financial Times|access-date=27 March 2014|url-access=subscription|quote=Deputy economy minister Andrei Klepach estimates that Russian capital outflows will total up to $70bn in the first quarter, more than the $63bn that left the country during the whole of 2013.}} and Russian government-bond issues plummeted by three-quarters compared with the same period the previous year.{{cite news|author1=Jack Farchy|author2=Martin Arnold|date=18 April 2014|title=Banks retreat from Moscow deals|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/36e988ea-c576-11e3-89a9-00144feabdc0.html|work=Financial Times|access-date=19 April 2014|url-access=subscription}} Novatek, Russia's second-largest gas producer, saw $2.5bn in market value wiped out when its shares sank by nearly 10%, rendering Putin's close friend Gennady Timchenko, who has a 23% stake in the company, $575m poorer. "I do hope that there is some serious diplomatic activity going on behind the scenes," said one Russian banker,{{cite news|author1=Jack Farchy|author2=Kathrin Hille|author3=Courtney Weaver|date=21 March 2014|title=Russian executives quake as US sanctions rattle markets|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3f35068a-b119-11e3-9548-00144feab7de.html|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=21 March 2014|url-access=subscription}} though others were more sanguine on the question of whether the sanctions would have any enduring effect,{{cite news|author=Halia Pavliva|date=23 March 2014|title = EU's Muted Crimea Response Triggers Russian Stock Rebound|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-23/eu-s-muted-crimea-response-triggers-russian-stock-rebound.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140323230622/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-23/eu-s-muted-crimea-response-triggers-russian-stock-rebound.html|archive-date=23 March 2014|agency=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=23 March 2014}}{{cite news|author1=Eric Matzen|author2=Michelle Martin|date=21 March 2014|title=Russian sanctions ripple through corporate boardrooms|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-sanctions-idUKBREA2K1VD20140321|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204201723/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-sanctions-idUKBREA2K1VD20140321|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 February 2016|work=Reuters|access-date=21 March 2014}} and Russians, top and bottom, seemed defiant.{{cite news|author=Kathrin Hille|date=21 March 2014|title=Putin boosted by defiant tone at top and among people|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1dca5172-b122-11e3-9548-00144feab7de.html|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=21 March 2014|url-access=subscription}} The official Russian response was mixed.{{cite news|author1=Paul Sonne|author2=Sarah Kent|date=21 March 2014|title=Russia Sends Mixed Signals in Response to U.S. Sanctions|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303802104579452751446729822|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=21 March 2014|url-access=subscription}}

The then Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Alexey Ulyukaev said that introduction of sectoral sanctions will lead to a serious decline of the Russian economy: economic growth of Russia will become seriously negative, the growth of volumes of investment will be even more negative, inflation will rise, and government revenues and reserves will go down.{{cite news|author=Mishchenko|first=Olga|date=28 June 2014|title=Минэкономразвития РФ опасается негативного влияния западных санкций|language=ru|trans-title=Ministry for Economic Development of the Russian Federation fears the negative impact of Western sanctions|work=Deutsche Welle|url=http://www.dw.com/ru/%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8D%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D1%80%D1%84-%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F-%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B9/a-17743705|access-date=2 January 2016}}

As well as differences between the United States and Europe as a whole as to how to respond to the Russian-backed incursion, those same differences have played out among Eastern European countries.{{cite news|author=John Fraher|title=Energy Needs Curb Eastern EU Hunger for Russian Sanctions|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-18/putin-gas-splits-eastern-eu-over-russia-sanctions|agency=Bloomberg|date=18 April 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}}

A number of Russian citizens reported that they have been denied European visas after they visited Crimea after annexation.

{{cite news

|url=https://www.rbc.ru/politics/22/06/2015/558804e59a7947af523f6180|author=Maria Bondarenko

|date=22 June 2015

|access-date=3 January 2016|website=rbc.ru|language=ru|script-title=ru:Правозащитники рассказали об отказах в выдаче виз после поездок в Крым|trans-title=Human rights activists have reported visa denials after trips to Crimea}}

A Russian consumer protection watchdog OZPP published a warning for Russian tourists about this risk, explaining that from the international law point of view, Crimea is an occupied territory, after which Roskomnadzor blocked the OZPP website "for threatening territorial integrity of Russian Federation".

{{cite news

|url=https://tvrain.ru/news/roskomnadzor_rasporjadilsja_zablokirovat_sajt_obsc-389724/

|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор распорядился заблокировать сайт Общества защиты прав потребителей\|trans-title=Roskomnadzor ordered the blocking of the Consumer Rights Protection Society site|language=ru|website=tvrain.ru|date=22 June 2015|access-date=3 January 2016}}

In response to having its voting rights revoked, Russia in June 2017 suspended its budget payments to the Council of Europe, with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov stating payments would not resume until all rights of Russia's delegation were fully restored.{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-council-of-europe-payments/russia-suspends-payments-to-council-of-europe-over-crimea-row-idUKKBN19L220|title=Russia suspends payments to Council of Europe over Crimea row|work=uk.reuters.com|access-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226023147/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-council-of-europe-payments/russia-suspends-payments-to-council-of-europe-over-crimea-row-idUKKBN19L220|archive-date=2017-12-26}} Council Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has suggested lifting the sanctions to avoid the impact of mounting budgetary restraints. However, Council members such as Ukraine and its supporters have argued that readmitting Russia without demanding concessions in return would amount to "caving to Russian 'blackmail'".{{cite news|url = https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-fears-council-of-europe-caving-russian-blackmail/28882603.html|title = Ukraine 'Extremely Concerned' Council of Europe Caving To Russian 'Blackmail'|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty| date=27 November 2017|access-date=19 September 2018| last1=Miller| first1=Christopher}}{{cite web|url = https://www.ft.com/content/3cccaf92-d12c-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc|title=Russia tests Council of Europe in push to regain vote|last=Buckley|first=Neil|date=26 November 2017|website=Financial Times}}

{{further|Cartographic aggression}}

File:Map of Russia. Crimean Federal District.svg within Russia in 2014]]

• The United Nations maps Crimea as belonging to Ukraine.{{cite web|date=March 2014|title=Map of Ukraine|url=https://www.un.org/geospatial/content/ukraine|access-date=27 May 2024|website=United Nations}}
• National Geographic Society stated that their policy is "to portray current reality" and "Crimea, if it is formally annexed by Russia, would be shaded gray", but also further remarked that this step does not suggest recognising the legitimacy of such.{{cite web|url=http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/19/statement-regarding-the-mapping-of-crimea/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320222357/http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/19/statement-regarding-the-mapping-of-crimea/|archive-date=20 March 2014|title=Statement Regarding the Mapping of Crimea|publisher=National Geographic Society|date=19 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}} As of April 2014, Crimea was still displayed as part of Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://hi-tech.mail.ru/news/new-krym-maps/|script-title=ru:Крым на картах мира: ситуация поменялась|trans-title=Crimea on maps of the world: the situation has changed|language=ru|website=hi-tech.mail.ru|date=11 April 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}}
• {{As of|April 2014}}, Google Maps displays Crimea as a disputed territory to most viewers. For the Russian and Ukrainian versions of the website, Crimea is marked as belonging to the corresponding country (Russia or Ukraine respectively). Google stated that it "work(s) with sources to get the best interpretation of the border or claim lines".{{cite news|author1=J. Kyle O'Donnell|author2=Julie Johnsson|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-21/russian-cartographers-add-crimea-to-maps-amid-sanctions|title=Russian Cartographers Add Crimea to Maps Amid Sanctions|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=22 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}}
• Yandex displays Crimea as part of Russia for .ru and .com domains since the end of March 2014.{{Cite news|title=BMW обозначила на своих картах Крым российским. Как поступают другие производители?|trans-title=BMW marked Crimea as Russian on its maps. How are other manufacturers doing?|language=ru|work=BBC News Русская служба|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-54886561|access-date=20 June 2021}} According to the official statement, the company works with users from different countries and "displays reality that surrounds them".{{cite web|author=Daniil Aleksandrov|title=Republic.ru|url=http://slon.ru/fast/world/yandeks-pokazyvaet-raznye-karty-v-rossii-i-na-ukraine-1074691.xhtml|script-title=ru:"Яндекс" показывает разные карты в России и на Украине|trans-title="Yandex" displays different maps in Russia and in Ukraine|language=ru|website = slon.ru|date=22 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}}
• {{As of|March 2014}}, Bing Maps,{{cite news|url = http://tass.ru/en/russia/725342|title=Parliament challenges mapmakers to mark Crimea Russian territory|agency=en.itar-tass.com|date=26 March 2014|access-date=2 January 2016}} OpenStreetMap and HERE displayed Crimea as belonging to Ukraine. In particular, OpenStreetMap requested its users to refrain from editing borders and administrative relations of subdivisions located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol until 31 May 2014. On 5 June 2014, OpenStreetMap switched to a territorial dispute option, displaying Crimea as a disputed territory belonging to both countries.{{cite web|url = https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Working_Group_Minutes/DWG_2014-06-05_Special_Crimea|title=Statement by the DWG on edit conflicts in Crimea|date=5 June 2014|publisher=OpenStreetMap Foundation|access-date=2 January 2016|quote = In the short-term Crimea shall remain in both the Ukraine and Russia administrative relations, and be indicated as disputed. We recognize that being in two administrative relations is not a good long-term solution, although the region is likely to be indicated as disputed for some time.}}
• In 2015, on the PepsiCo website, a Russian-language map was visible for a few days that depicted Crimea as a part of Russia.{{cite magazine|url=https://fortune.com/2016/01/21/ukraine-investigates-coca-cola-and-pepsi-over-crimea-map-row/|title=Ukraine investigates Coca Cola and Pepsi|year=2016|magazine=Fortune|access-date=7 July 2016}}
• The 2016 edition of a French atlas published by Larousse shows Crimea as part of Russian territory: Oleh Shamshur, Ukrainian Ambassador to France, expressed shock.{{cite web|url = https://news.yahoo.com/ukraines-france-ambassador-slams-atlas-placing-crimea-russia-193953372.html|title=Ukraine's France ambassador slams atlas for placing Crimea in Russia|publisher=Yahoo! News|date=13 October 2016|access-date=9 January 2016}} Shortly after, Larousse changed the map to reflect Crimea as part of Ukraine on the Atlas on their internet version.{{cite web|url = http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/autre-region/Crim%C3%A9e/115181|title=Larousse official Internet website|publisher=Larousse|access-date=7 July 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://geopolis.francetvinfo.fr/quand-le-larousse-place-la-crimee-en-russie-83775|title=Official position of Larousse on Crimea|year=2015|access-date=7 July 2016}}
• The Italian-language magazine of geopolitics Limes maps Crimea as a part of Russia since December 2015.[http://www.limesonline.com/lattivismo-militare-della-russia-nel-2015/88860?prv=true L'attivismo militare della Russia nel 2015], Russia's military activism in 2015, Limes Following protests from the Ukrainian embassy in Italy, the magazine editor Lucio Caracciolo wrote that "the map reflects reality. When Crimea and Sevastopol will be back under effective Ukrainian sovereignty, we will produce a map that reflects such reality".[http://www.limesonline.com/perche-limes-rappresenta-la-crimea-sotto-la-sovranita-della-russia/88930 Perché Limes rappresenta la Crimea sotto la sovranità della Russia], Because Limes represents Crimea under the sovereignty of Russia 11 January 2016 Limes, accessed 28 February 2022
• The Russian version of Apple's App Store began to show Crimea as part of Russia on 27 November 2019.{{Cite news|date=27 November 2019|title=Apple changes Crimea map to meet Russian demands|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50573069|access-date=19 June 2021}}

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

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts (2022)
• Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War
• Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire (1783)
• Proposed Russian annexation of South Ossetia
• Proposed Russian annexation of Transnistria
• Russian-occupied territories
• Occupied territories of Georgia
• Occupied territories of Moldova
• Occupied territories of Ukraine
• Russian imperialism
• Russian irredentism

{{NoteFoot}}

{{Reflist}}

{{See also|Bibliography of Ukrainian history|List of Slavic studies journals}}

• {{cite journal|editor-last1 = Pynnöniemi|editor-first1= Katri|editor-last2 = Rácz|editor-first2= András|title=Fog of Falsehood: Russian Strategy of Deception and the Conflict in Ukraine|journal=Fiia Report|location=Helsinki|publisher=Finnish Institute of International Affairs|year=2016|isbn=978-951-769-485-8|series=FIIA Report, 45|issn=2323-5454|url = http://www.fiia.fi/fi/publication/588/fog_of_falsehood/|access-date=1 June 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171109024305/http://www.fiia.fi/fi/publication/588/fog_of_falsehood/|archive-date=9 November 2017}}
• {{cite web|title=Myths and misconceptions in the debate on Russia|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/05/myths-and-misconceptions-debate-russia/|website=Chatham House|date=13 May 2021|access-date=25 June 2022}}

{{Sister project links

|b=no|commons=Category:Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|d=yes|m=no|mw=no|n= no|q=yes|s=Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia

|v=no|voy=no|wikt=no

}}

• [https://www.academia.edu/6481091/A_treaty_on_accession_of_the_Republic_of_Crimea_and_Sebastopol_to_the_Russian_Federation._Unofficial_English_translation_with_little_commentary A treaty of accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation. Unofficial English translation with commentary]{{dead link |date=March 2025}}
• [http://www.rferl.org/media/video/russia-ukraine-crimea-interviews/27575495.html Russia & Me: Former Post-Soviet Leaders' Views On Crimea's Annexation] (video 11:21), REF/RL, 26 February 2016 (in Russian, subtitles in English)

{{Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}

{{Irredentism}}

{{Russian intervention in Ukraine}}

{{Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

{{Politics of Ukraine footer}}

{{Territorial disputes in Europe}}

{{Authority control}}

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