Russian occupation of Crimea

File:2014_Крим.PNG during the capture of Crimea by Russia in February–March 2014]]

On the night of 26–27 February 2014, Russian special forces seized and blocked the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Council of Ministers of Crimea. Russian forces purporting to be "Crimean militia" seized other administrative buildings, airports in Simferopol and Sevastopol, communications facilities, the mass media, etc. autonomy of Crimea 25 May 2014{{clarify|date=November 2024}} – on the day of the presidential elections in Ukraine. At the same time, the presence of a quorum is doubtful, since the media were not allowed to attend the meeting.{{Cite web |title=Media: The Verkhovna Rada of the ARC cannot consider the issue of the all-Ukrainian referendum – the deputies do not have a quorum |url=https://www.unian.ua/politics/890739-zmi-rada-ark-ne-moje-rozglyanuti-pitannya-pro-vsekrimskiy-referendum-u-deputativ-nemae-kvorumu.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.unian.ua |language=uk}} The Russian saboteur Igor Girkin, on the air of one of the Russian TV programs, admitted that the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to vote for the decision on the separation of Crimea from Ukraine were forcibly driven away by the so-called "militia", and he personally was one of the commanders of this "militia". Soon, the date of the referendum was changed twice: first moved to 30 March, and then to 16 March. The wording of the question was also changed – instead of expanding autonomy, it was about joining Russia. In fact, both "alternative" questions were formulated in such a way that they excluded Crimea's belonging to Ukraine.{{Cite web |orig-date=6 March 2014 |title=The issue of the Crimean referendum leaves no choice – only exit from Ukraine, the lawyer said |url=https://espreso.tv/news/2014/03/06/pytannya_krymskoho_referendumu_ne_zalyshayut_vyboru__tilky_vykhid_z_ukrayiny_yuryst |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=espreso.tv |language=uk |publication-date=6 March 2014}} At the same time, according to Ukrainian legislation, since Ukraine is a unitary state, the issue of separating the region can only be resolved at a national referendum. Given this, even before the referendum was held, the leaders of Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and many others considered it illegal, and its results invalid.

On 27 February, unmarked Russian forces masquerading as "armed pro-Russian individuals" 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/|work=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}} 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) – 27 February 2014 – "New Visit" Genetic Information Portal|work=vizit.ks.ua|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314131955/http://vizit.ks.ua/news/post_chongar_kontroliruet_krymskij_berkut_podchinennyj_janukovichu/2014-02-27-3148|archive-date=14 March 2014}}{{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 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 – 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.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} 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|work=Interfax|language=ru }} Putin later acknowledged that he had ordered "work to bring Crimea back into Russia" as early as February.{{cite news|title=Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot|work=BBC News|date=9 March 2015|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31796226|access-date=9 March 2015}}
{{cite news|last1=Soldatkin|first1=Vladimir|last2=Stamp|first2=David|date=9 March 2014|title=Putin says plan to take Crimea hatched before referendum|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-putin-crimea-idUSKBN0M51DG20150309|work=Reuters|access-date=10 March 2015}} 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|work=TASS|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|work=TASS|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|work=Ukrinform|access-date=21 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126044846/http://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-politics/1626422-russia_redeploys_ships_of_baltic_and_northern_fleets_to_sevastopol_violates_agreement_with_ukraine_317983.html|archive-date=26 November 2015}} 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.{{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 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 |language=en}} 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 {{Not translated|Igor Kasatonov|ru}} stated that according to his information the Russian troop deployment in Crimea included six helicopter landings and three landings of an IL-76 with 500 people.{{Cite news|last=Urbanskaya|first=Tatyana|date=22 February 2018|title=Operation "Crimea is Ours"|url=https://www.unian.info/politics/10017818-operation-crimea-is-ours.html|work=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency}}{{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}}

{{More|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}

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

On 16 March 2014, a referendum status of Crimea was held by Russia, where, according to official Russian data, 96.77% of the inhabitants of the (Autonomous) Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol voted for the reunification of the respective territories with the Russian Federation. On 17 March, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Crimea, and on 18 March, in the Georgievsky Hall of the Kremlin, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, together with the self-proclaimed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov and the self-proclaimed life of Sevastopol Aleksei Chalyi, signed the Treaty on the Adoption of the Republic Crimea to Russia. On 21 March, the Federation Council adopted a law on the ratification of the Treaty of 18 March and a law on the formation of new subjects of the federation — the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol, securing the annexation of these regions by Russia.

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

{{More|Kerch Strait incident}}

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

{{further|Russian invasion of Ukraine|Crimea attacks (2022–present)}}

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

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

File:В Новофёдоровке в день взрывов на аэродроме, 2022, 03.jpg, August 2022]]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On 19 January 2023, during the Ukrainian breakfast in Davos, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the goal of Ukraine is to de-occupy all territories temporarily seized by Russia and called on the Western world to provide heavy weapons for this.

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

Between 2014 and 2017, the peninsula became the scene of a low-intensity insurgency, during which pro-Ukrainian partisans mainly committed sabotage and arson attacks against infrastructure targets, but also acts of psychological warfare, as well as attacks on Russian security forces.{{Cite web |date=2018-07-12 |title=Кримський активіст: Сенцов нас сварив за підпали офісів у Сімферополі |url=http://uapress.info/uk/news/show/31438|access-date=2024-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927023951/http://uapress.info/uk/news/show/31438 |archive-date=2016-09-27 |website=www.gordonua.com |language=uk}}{{Cite web |date=2014-07-16 |title=У Криму партизани напали на військову колону РФ |url=https://gordonua.com/ukr/news/crimea/-krimskij-aktivist-sentsov-vilajav-nas-za-pidpali-ofisiv-u-simferopoli-263076.html|access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.gordonua.com |language=uk}}{{Cite web |date=2018-01-11 |title=Кокер-спаниель и «провода к яичникам». Как в Крыму расследуют диверсии на ЛЭП и газопроводе |url=https://zona.media/article/2018/01/11/cocker |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.zona.media |language=ru}}

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

File:2016 Memorial day of Deportation of the Crimean Tatars in Kyiv 06.jpg in 1944 to the Russian occupation of Crimea since 2014]]

{{see also|Republic of Crimea (Russia)#Human rights}}

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

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

After the occupation of Crimea, Ukrainians became one of the ethnic communities of the peninsula most discriminated against by the occupying Russian authorities. The occupying power persecutes Ukrainian public figures, carries out anti-Ukrainian propaganda, makes xenophobic and chauvinist statements, persecutes Ukrainian religious communities, bans the activities of Ukrainian public and political organizations, restricts the use of the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian national symbols.{{Cite web |title=Кримські українці: пригноблена меншість |trans-title=Crimean Ukrainians: an oppressed minority |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/25397484.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=25 May 2014 |language=uk}} Thus, as early as the first half of 2014, Ukrainian-language signs were replaced with Russian ones, in April 2014, the monument to Petro Sahaydachny and a commemorative sign in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Ukrainian Navy were dismantled in Sevastopol,{{Cite web |title=У Севастополі пам'ятники Сагайдачному і ВМС України замінять російським адміралом |trans-title=In Sevastopol, the monuments to Sahaidachny and the Navy of Ukraine will be replaced by a Russian admiral |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/26/7023702/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Українська правда |language=uk}} in August 2014, it was announced that 250 Ukrainian language and literature teachers would be retrained in Russian,{{Cite web |title=В анексованому Криму вчителів української перекваліфікують на вчителів російської |trans-title=In the annexed Crimea, Ukrainian teachers are being retrained as Russian teachers |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/26516159.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=6 August 2014 |language=uk}} in September 2014, the Faculty of Ukrainian Language was liquidated at the Tavri University (a department of Ukrainian philology was created instead),{{Cite web |date=13 September 2014 |title=В Таврическом университете ликвидировали факультет украинской филологии |trans-title=The faculty of Ukrainian philology was liquidated at the Tavri University |url=http://investigator.org.ua/ua/news/136635/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Центр журналістських розслідувань |language=uk}} in November 2014, the Crimean Academic Ukrainian Musical Theater was renamed the State Academic Musical Theater of the Republic of Crimea, and the only Ukrainian school-gymnasium in Simferopol was transferred to the Russian language of instruction and renamed to Simferopol Academic Gymnasium,{{Cite web |title=Українське в Криму? Знищити! |trans-title=Ukrainian in Crimea? Destroy! |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/26694622.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=16 November 2014 |language=uk}} in December 2014, the Ukrainian children's theater studio "Svitanok" closed due to pressure,{{Cite web |title=Придушити все українське? У Криму закрилася дитяча театральна студія |trans-title=Suppress everything Ukrainian? A children's theater studio was closed in Crimea |url=https://ua.krymr.com/a/27457300.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Крым.Реалии |date=30 December 2015 |language=uk}} in March 2016, the Lesia Ukrainka Museum in Yalta was closed for renovation,{{Cite news |title=Музей Лесі Українки у Ялті закрили. Назавжди? |trans-title=The museum of Lesya Ukrainka in Yalta was closed, the Russian authorities say – for repairs, writers – forever |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/27613859.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Радіо Свобода |date=15 March 2016 |language=uk |last1=Свобода |first1=Радіо }} in the same month, the Russian FSB searched the premises of the Ukrainian society "Prosvita" in Sevastopol, where they seized more than 250 "extremist materials".{{Cite web |last=Цензор.НЕТ |title=ФСБ провела обшуки в українській "Просвіті" в окупованому Севастополі: вилучено 250 томів "екстремістської літератури". ВІДЕО |url=https://censor.net/ua/video_news/382076/fsb_provela_obshuky_v_ukrayinskiyi_prosviti_v_okupovanomu_sevastopoli_vylucheno_250_tomiv_ekstremistskoyi |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Цензор.НЕТ |date=31 March 2016 |language=uk}} The power structures of the occupation authorities detained a number of Ukrainian figures, in particular, Andriy Shchekun, Anatoliy Kovalskyi and others, some of the detainees were tortured. The Russian military seized most of the churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine —as of October 2018, 38 out of 46 Ukrainian parishes in Crimea stopped working.{{Cite web |title=В оккупированном Крыму 38 из 46 парафий УПЦ КП прекратили существование |url=https://www.ukrinform.ru/rubric-crimea/2555308-v-okkupirovannom-krymu-tolko-8-prihodov-upc-kp-iz-46.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205130237/https://www.ukrinform.ru/rubric-crimea/2555308-v-okkupirovannom-krymu-tolko-8-prihodov-upc-kp-iz-46.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.ukrinform.ru |language=ru}} As of June 2019, only one OCU church remained in operation, but it was also looted by a court decision under the guise of repairs. According to Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea Klyment, these hostile actions of the Russian occupying power towards the Ukrainian Church are aimed at the complete destruction of Ukrainian identity and Ukrainians as a separate nation in Crimea.{{Cite web |title=СЬОГОДНІ В КРИМУ ОКУПАНТИ ПОВНІСТЮ ЗНИЩУЮТЬ УКРАЇНСЬКУ ІДЕНТИЧНІСТЬ – АРХІЄПИСКОП КЛИМЕНТ|trans-title=TODAY IN CRIMEA, THE OCCUPIERS ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYING THE UKRAINIAN IDENTITY – ARCHBISHOP KLIMENT|website=Channel 5 |language=uk|date=26 July 2019 |url=https://www.5.ua/polityka/sohodni-v-krymu-okupanty-povnistiu-znyshchuiut-ukrainsku-identychnist-arkhiiepyskop-klyment-196419.html}}

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

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

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

{{See|Environmental impact of the Russian occupation of Crimea}}

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

On 2 March 2014, in an address to the UN Security Council, Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev called on the international community to "do everything possible" to stop the Russian act of aggression. He stressed that the number of Russian troops in Crimea is growing "by the hour." Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said "colder heads must prevail" and the West must stop escalating the conflict by encouraging the protesters. US Ambassador Samantha Power told the session that Russia allowing the use of force is "dangerous and destabilizing."{{Cite news |title=Ukraine Tells Russia Invasion Means War |website=Bloomberg News |date=2 March 2014 |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-01/ukraine-tells-russia-troop-entry-means-war-after-putin-approval |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926014117/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-01/ukraine-tells-russia-troop-entry-means-war-after-putin-approval |archive-date=26 September 2018 |access-date=17 February 2015}}

On 2 March 2014, The Wall Street Journal opinion piece considered that these decisions had brought the threat of war to the heart of Europe for the first time since the Cold War.

On 15 April 2014, a former British diplomat Charles Crawford wrote that he believed that Ukraine may be Putin's testbed in his plans to revive the Russian Empire. The annexation of Crimea took place immediately, but the further conquest of Ukraine will be carried out by the method of a thousand cuts.

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

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

On 17 December 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has brought up that, in his opinion, Russia's actions in Crimea and Donbas fully fall under the definition of aggression in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 1976:{{Cite web |date=23 December 2019 |title=МЗС: Дії РФ у Криму та на Донбасі підпадають під визначення агресії в резолюції ГА ООН |url=https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2839220-mzs-dii-rf-u-krimu-ta-na-donbasi-pidpadaut-pid-viznacenna-agresii-v-rezolucii-ga-oon.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223140710/https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2839220-mzs-dii-rf-u-krimu-ta-na-donbasi-pidpadaut-pid-viznacenna-agresii-v-rezolucii-ga-oon.html |archive-date=2019-12-23 }}

"Since 2014, Ukrainian government, has been constantly qualifying the internationally illegal actions of the Russian Federation in Crimea and Donbas as an act of aggression. We clearly and consistently proving that such actions of the Russian Federation fully fall within the definition of aggression in accordance with paragraphs a), b), c), d), e) and g) of Article 3 of the Annex to UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) "Definition aggression", adopted 45 years ago".{{cite web|url=https://mfa.gov.ua/ua/press-center/news/76643-zajava-mzs-ukrajini-z-nagodi-45-ji-richnici-rezolyuciji-generalynoji-asambleji-oon-3314-xxix-viznachennya-agresiji|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine|language=Ukrainian|title=MFA Statement on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (xxix) Definition of aggression|date=17 December 2019}}

On 11 December 2022, The Washington Post published an article reporting that the Western world, while supporting Ukraine, fears that any Ukrainian counteroffensive in Crimea could prompt Vladimir Putin to take decisive action, potentially even using nuclear weapons. Some Western officials hope that an agreement on Ukraine's renunciation of Crimea in favor of Russia can become the basis for a diplomatic end to the war. A proponent of Ukraine, Rory Finnin, an associate professor at the Department of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge, believes that a compromise regarding Crimea is unlikely:

{{Cquote|The idea that somehow Ukraine should just go back to the status quo post-2014 is foolish because all that will happen is another escalation. It is hard to imagine Ukrainians being comfortable with giving up this territory, knowing this means the abandonment of millions of people. The moral and geopolitical stakes of such an abandonment are grave.{{Cite news |date=12 November 2022 |title=Fierce claims to Crimea highlight slim chance of Russia-Ukraine peace deal |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/11/crimea-russia-ukraine-negotiations-war/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}}}

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

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

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Crimea

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