Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

For more details, see Russian occupation of Crimea.

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs the treaty of accession (annexation) with Crimean leaders in Moscow, 18 March 2014.
Date
  • Annexation: 18 March 2014
  • Military operation: 27 February[note 1] – 26 March 2014[10]
Location
Crimea
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

Based in Crimea,
elements of[11]: 11–12 

Navy

  • 510th Naval Inf Bde (Feodosiia)
  • 810th Naval Inf Bde (Simferopol)

Deployed to Crimea, elements of

Ground Forces

(GRU command)

Airborne

Navy

  • 382nd Naval Inf Bn (Temryuk)
  • 727th Naval Inf Bn (Astrakhan)

Special Operations Forces

Armed forces[11]: 11–12 

Navy

Paramilitary

Interior troops

  • 9th Bde (Simferopol)
  • 15th Bn (Yevpatoriia)
  • 18th Spec Mot Militia Bn (Haspra)
  • 42nd Operational Rgt (Sevastopol)
  • 47th Bde (Feodosiia)

Border guards

  • Special-Purpose Border Guard Bn (Yalta)
Strength

Protesters

Volunteer units[14][16]

  • 5,000 (Sevastopol)
  • 1,700 (Simferopol)

Russian military forces

  • 20,000–30,000 troops[17]

Protesters

Ukrainian military forces

  • 5,000–22,000 troops[20][21]
  • 40,000 reservists, partly mobilised (outside Crimea)[22]
Casualties and losses
1 Crimean SDF trooper killed[23]
  • 2 soldiers killed[24]
  • 60–80 soldiers detained[25]
  • 9,268 military servicemen and 7,050 civilian employees defected[26][27]
2 civilian deaths (during the protests),[28][29] 1 civilian killed[30][31] (by Crimean SDF under command of a former Russian serviceman)[32][33]

In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum[34] immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

The events in Kyiv that ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February 2014 sparked pro-Russian and anti-separatism[35] demonstrations in Crimea. At the same time, Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed Ukrainian events with security chiefs, remarking that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia". On 27 February, Russian special forces without insignia[36] seized strategic sites across Crimea.[37][38] Although Russia at first denied its military involvement,[39] Putin later admitted that troops were deployed to "stand behind Crimea's self-defence forces".[40] As Russian troops occupied Crimea's parliament, it dismissed the Crimean government, installed the pro-Russian Aksyonov government, and announced a referendum on Crimea's status. The referendum was held under Russian occupation and, according to the Russian-installed authorities, the result was overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia. The next day, 17 March 2014, Crimea's authorities declared independence and requested to join Russia.[41][42] Russia formally incorporated Crimea on 18 March 2014 as the Republic of Crimea and federal city of Sevastopol.[43][40] Following the annexation,[44] Russia built up its military presence on the peninsula and warned against any outside intervention.[45]

Ukraine and many other countries condemned the annexation and consider it to be a violation of international law and Russian agreements safeguarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The annexation led to the other members of the G8 suspending Russia from the group[46] and introducing sanctions. The United Nations General Assembly also rejected the referendum and annexation, adopting a resolution affirming the "territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders",[47][48] and referring to the Russian action as a "temporary occupation".[49]

The Russian government opposes the "annexation" label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of the self-determination of peoples.[50][51]

  1. ^ a b McDermott, Roger N. (2016). "Brothers Disunited: Russia's use of military power in Ukraine". In Black, J.L.; Johns, Michael (eds.). The Return of the Cold War: Ukraine, the West and Russia. London: Routledge. pp. 99–129. doi:10.4324/9781315684567-5. ISBN 978-1-138-92409-3. OCLC 909325250.
  2. ^ "Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea) (decision)". European Court of Human Rights. January 2021. The Ukrainian Government maintains that the Russian Federation has from 27 February 2014 exercised effective control over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol ... There was sufficient evidence that during the relevant period the respondent State [Russia] had exercised effective control over Crimea.
  3. ^ Sasse, Gwendolyn (2023). Russia's War Against Ukraine. Wiley & Sons. p. 2004. Russia's war against Ukraine began with the annexation of Crimea on 27 February 2014. On that day, Russian special forces without any uniform insignia appeared in Crimea, quickly taking control of strategic, military and political institutions.
  4. ^ DeBenedictis, Kent (2022). Russian 'Hybrid Warfare' and the Annexation of Crimea. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 140. During the night of 26–27 February, Russian special forces without insignia departed Sevastopol ... They arrived at the Crimean Rada and Council of Ministers buildings in Simferopol, disarmed the security and took control of the buildings ... Putin later signed a decree designating 27 February as Special Operations Forces Day in Russia.
  5. ^ "'Няша' Поклонська обіцяє бійцям 'Беркута' покарати учасників Майдану". www.segodnya.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  6. ^ "7683rd meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Thursday, 28 April 2016, 3 p.m. New York". Mr. Prystaiko (Ukraine): I have to remind the Council that the official medal that was produced by the Russian Federation for the so-called return of Crimea has the dates on it, starting with 20 February, which is the day before that agreement was brought to the attention of the Security Council by the representative of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the Russian Federation started – not just planned, but started – the annexation of Crimea the day before we reached the first agreement and while President Yanukovych was still in power.
  7. ^ "Russia's Orwellian 'diplomacy'". unian.info. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot". BBC News. 9 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Vladimir Putin describes secret meeting when Russia decided to seize Crimea". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. ^ Kofman, Michael (2017). Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine (PDF). Santa Monica: RAND Corporation. ISBN 978-0-8330-9617-3. OCLC 990544142. By March 26, the annexation was essentially complete, and Russia began returning seized military hardware to Ukraine.
  11. ^ a b Galeotti, Mark (2019). Armies of Russia's War in Ukraine. Elite 228. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-1-4728-3344-0.
  12. ^ У Севастополі росіяни пригнали «Тигр» для штурму українців Archived 10 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Russian Citizen Elected Sevastopol Mayor Amid Pro-Moscow Protests in Crimea". The Moscow Times. 24 February 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Ukraine leader Turchynov warns of 'danger of separatism'". Euronews. 25 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Russian flags flood Crimean capital as thousands back takeover by Russia". The Straits Times. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  16. ^ "Pro-Russian rally in Crimea decries Kiev 'bandits'". The Washington Post. 25 February 2014.
  17. ^ Pollard, Ruth (13 March 2014). "Russia closing door on Crimea as troops build up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Crimean Tatars, pro-Russia supporters approach Crimean parliament building". UA. Interfax. 20 October 2012.
  19. ^ "Russia puts military on high alert as Crimea protests leave one man dead". The Guardian. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  20. ^ Ewen MacAskill, defence correspondent (28 February 2014). "Ukraine military still a formidable force despite being dwarfed by neighbour". The Guardian. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  21. ^ "Putin Talks Tough But Cools Tensions Over Ukraine". NPR. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  22. ^ Faiola, Anthony (17 March 2014). "Ukraine mobilizes reservists but relies on diplomacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  23. ^ Heather Saul; Kim Sengupta (19 March 2014). "Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russian troops storm naval base as Clinton warns of 'aggression' from Putin". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  24. ^ "Russian marine kills Ukraine navy officer in Crimea, says ministry". Reuters. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  25. ^ Aleksander Vasovic; Gabriela Baczynska (24 March 2014). "Ukraine military to pull out from Crimea". The Sudbury Star. Reuters. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  26. ^ "Russia employs over 16,000 former servicemen and personnel of Ukrainian armed forces". TASS. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Бывшие украинские военнослужащие вливаются в Вооруженные Силы РФ" [Former Ukrainian military join the Russian Armed Forces]. Novyy Sevastopol (new-sebastopol.com). 25 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Two die in rallies outside Crimean parliament, says ex-head of Mejlis". Kyiv Post. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  29. ^ JC Finley (27 February 2014). "Unrest in Crimea leaves 2 dead; government buildings seized". United Press International. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  30. ^ Погибший крымский татарин шел в военкомат, захваченный 'дружинниками' [The deceased was a Crimean Tatar on his way to enlist when he was captured "vigilantes"]. LB.ua (in Russian). 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  31. ^ Зверски убитого крымского татарина звали Решат Аметов. Трое малолетних детей осиротели. [Brutally murdered Crimean Tatar's name was Reshat Ametov. Three toddlers left orphaned.]. censor.net.ua (in Russian). 18 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  32. ^ ФСБ и крымские "потеряшки" (tr. "FSB and Crimean "losses"") — RFEL, 13 June 2016
  33. ^ "Гюндуз Мамедов, прокурор АР Крим: 'Під процесуальним керівництвом прокуратури АР Крим розкрито викрадення кримськотатарського активіста Решата Аметова'" [Gunduz Mamedov, Prosecutor of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea: "Under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the abduction of Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov has been revealed"]. Prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol city, 10 September 2019
  34. ^ Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, page 19, published by RAND Corporation in 2017. "Ukraine's government was in transition following the ouster of Yanukovych. As a result, it did not react to the Russian operation when launched. Russia's task was made relatively easy by the confusion and chaos that generally follows an uprising, such as what happened in Kyiv. Moscow capitalized on the tensions and uncertainty in Crimea, as well as on the inexperience of Ukraine's provisional government. Meeting notes of the discussion among Ukrainian leadership reveal a great deal of anxiety, uncertainty, and unwillingness to take action for fear of escalation."
  35. ^ "Parliament of ARC is doing everything possible to separate Crimea from Ukraine, Chubarov said". Archived from the original on 21 June 2015.
  36. ^ Weaver, Courtney (15 March 2015). "Putin was ready to put nuclear weapons on alert in Crimea crisis". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  37. ^ Simon Shuster (10 March 2014). "Putin's Man in Crimea Is Ukraine's Worst Nightmare". Time. Retrieved 8 March 2015. Before dawn on Feb. 27, at least two dozen heavily armed men stormed the Crimean parliament building and the nearby headquarters of the regional government, bringing with them a cache of assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. A few hours later, Aksyonov walked into the parliament and, after a brief round of talks with the gunmen, began to gather a quorum of the chamber's lawmakers.
  38. ^ De Carbonnel, Alissa (13 March 2014). "RPT-INSIGHT-How the separatists delivered Crimea to Moscow". Reuters. Retrieved 8 March 2015. Only a week after gunmen planted the Russian flag on the local parliament, Aksyonov and his allies held another vote and declared parliament was appealing to Putin to annex Crimea
  39. ^ Baczynska, Gabriela; Toyer, Julien (5 March 2014). Gutterman, Steve (ed.). "Russia says cannot order Crimean 'self-defense' units back to base". Reuters.
  40. ^ a b "Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot". BBC News. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
    Soldatkin, Vladimir; Stamp, David (9 March 2014). "Putin says plan to take Crimea hatched before referendum". Reuters. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference Washington Post was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Про дострокове припинення повноважень Верховної Ради Автономної Республіки Крим [On the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 15 March 2014.
  43. ^ "Four years since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea". Government.no. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  44. ^ "Annexation of Crimea". UaWarExplained.com. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  45. ^ ""Russia Threatens Nuclear Strikes Over Crimea"". The Diplomat. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  46. ^ Bruno Waterfield; Peter Dominiczak; David Blair; The Daily Telegraph (24 March 2014). "Russia Temporarily Kicked Out of G8 Club of Rich Countries". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  47. ^ "UN General Assembly adopts resolution affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity". China Central Television. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  48. ^ "United Nations A/RES/68/262 General Assembly" (PDF). United Nations. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  49. ^ "ODS HOME PAGE" (PDF). documents-dds-ny.un.org.
  50. ^ Mike Collett-White; Ronald Popeski (16 March 2014). "Crimeans vote over 90 percent to quit Ukraine for Russia". Reuters. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  51. ^ Boris N. Mamlyuk (6 July 2015). "The Ukraine Crisis, Cold War II, and International Law". The German Law Journal. SSRN 2627417.


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