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It has been suggested that this article be merged into 2014 Crimean crisis. (Discuss)

Russian invasion of Crimea
Part of 2014 Crimean crisis
Date 27 February 2014 – present Location Crimea and Sevastopol, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Russia	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Vladimir Putin	Oleksandr Turchynov

The Russian invasion of Crimea began at the end of February 2014, when Russian forces seized control of civil buildings, airports, and military bases on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The Ukrainian response has been muted, with no military action on the part of Ukraine's government, which was installed in Kiev less than a week before the invasion.

Prelude

A civil uprising in Ukraine culminated in President Viktor Yanukovich fleeing Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, on 22 February 2014 as protesters against his government took control of the city. The Verkhovna Rada voted to restore the 2004 version of the Constitution of Ukraine and impeach Yanukovich shortly thereafter. This parliamentary move was denounced as illegal by Yanukovich and the government of Russia and opposed by many politicians in Ukraine's east and south.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea replaced its Yanukovich-appointed governor with a leading pro-Russia politician, Sergey Aksyonov, who said he continued to recognize Yanukovich as the legitimate president. The Crimean parliament also scheduled a referendum on greater autonomy from Kiev for 25 May 2014. Councilors in the special city of Sevastopol elected a Russian citizen as mayor, as demonstrators chanted the slogan "a Russian mayor for a Russian city". Sevastopol's police chief also said he would refuse orders from Kiev.

In Sevastopol, Kerch, and other Crimean cities, demonstrators pulled down the flag of Ukraine and replaced it with the flag of Russia.

Expansion was started the day after the press conference of former President Viktor Yanukovych, which was held in Rostov-on-Don, near the borders of Ukraine, where he calling for Putin to "restore an order" in Ukraine. The self-proclaimed head of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Sergey Aksenov appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide promotion of "peace and tranquility" in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Knowing in advance the script events, Putin responded with lightning speed and it controlled both houses of the State Duma of March 1, 2014 17:20 voted for the deployment of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, and region in particular..

Russian operation

On 26 February 2014, Russian-speaking gunmen said to be Russian soldiers established a checkpoint between Sevastopol and Simferopol. On 27 February, unidentified gunmen seized the Crimean parliamentary building and the Council of Ministers building and raised the Russian tricolor.

On 28 February, gunmen accused by the Ukrainian government of being Russian soldiers occupied Simferopol International Airport and Sevastopol International Airport, while Western and independent media reported troop movements in Crimea, including a formation of Russian military helicopters moving into the peninsula and Russian Army trucks approaching Simferopol, the Crimean capital. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces took over a military airbase in Sevastopol, landed troops at another airbase, and surrounded a coast guard base.

By 1 March, Russian troops reportedly controlled all of Crimea, including Sevastopol, without any shots fired. The same day, the Federation Council of Russia approved the use of military force in Ukraine, although Russian officials continued to claim military forces in Crimea were operating in accordance with existing agreements between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, that Russia was willing to act to "protect" ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian military bases in Crimea were "surrounded and sealed off" as Russian forces took control of the peninsula, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Reactions

Crimean response

Crimean Prime Minister Aksyonov asserted control over all security forces in Crimea and appealed to Putin for assistance in maintaining "peace and tranquility". He said officers who disagreed with his decision should resign.

Ukrainian response

Interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of "provoking a conflict" by sending troops into Crimea. He compared Russia's military actions to the Russia–Georgia war of 2008, when Russian troops occupied parts of the Republic of Georgia and the breakaway states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia were established under Russian protection. He called on Putin to withdraw from Crimea and said Ukraine would "preserve its territory" and "defend its independence". On 1 March, he warned, "Military intervention would be the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia."

In Ukraine, a large number of claims and complaints voiced during the first day of the aggression. Official address to the nation was announced by President and Commander in Chief of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov. Statements were made by all known public figures. Treatment Ukrainian association of churches and religious organizations published .

Evening of the first day of the war Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov announced the transfer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in full combat readiness.

Ukrainian politicians and bloggers actively compare the current crisis with Sudeten Crisis of 1938, which really was the beginning of World War II (because Russian arbitrarily announced a problem with the Russians in Ukraine and the need for their protection by military forces).

International reactions

• 1.03.2014  United States - official Washington canceled the trip of Barack Obama met at the Group of Eight in Sochi (Russia) and condemned the Russian aggression.
•  United Kingdom - Before the beginning of the aggression, Russia recalled its ambassador to Ukraine.
• 03/01/2014  United Kingdom - Britain recalled its ambassador from Russia

International organizations

• 03/01/2014  United Nations - The UN Security Council held a special meeting on Russia's aggression against Ukraine . Ukraine urged the Security Council to do "everything possible" to stop Russian aggression against the country after the upper house of parliament in Moscow endorsed military action.

References

1. "Ukraine Protestors Seize Kiev As President Flees". TIME. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
2. "Ukraine President Yanukovich impeached". Al Jazeera English. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
3. "Crimea's new prime minister calls Yanukovych president, relies on Russian financial aid (UPDATED)". Kyiv Post. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
4. "Crimean Tatars Deported by Stalin Oppose Putin in Ukraine". Bloomberg. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
5. "Ukraine: Sevastopol installs pro-Russian mayor as separatism fears grow". The Guardian. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
6. "Demonstrators raise Russian flag in Kerch". Focus News. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
7. "No Ukrainian flags left on Sevastopol administrative buildings". Kyiv Post. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
8. Putin declared war against Ukraine (in Ukrainian)
9. "Russian Troops Take Over Ukraine's Crimea Region". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
10. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/tension-in-crimea-as-pro-russia-and-pro-ukraine-groups-stage-competing-rallies/article17110382/
11. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/26/world/europe/ukraine-politics
12. "Armed men seize Crimea parliament and hoist Russian flag". The Guardian. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
13. "Ukraine crisis: 'Russians' occupy Crimea airports". BBC News. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
14. http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/01/nr-magnay-russian-soldiers-present.cnn.html
15. "Pro-Russia separatists flex muscles in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula". The Washington Post. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
16. "Ukraine's State Border Guard says coast guard base surrounded by about 30 Russian marines". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
17. "Russian troops seize Crimea". POLITICO. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
18. "Russian Parliament approves use of army in Ukraine". The Hindu. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
19. "Russian troops take over Ukraine's Crimea region as Putin gets approval to use military". The Globe and Mail. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
20. "Moscow Seals Off Ukrainian Bases in Crimea". The Wall Street Journal. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
21. "Crimea PM Takes Control Of Army, Police And Seeks Russian Help". NBC News. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
22. "Turchynov: Russia starts aggression in Crimea". Kyiv Post. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
23. "Ukraine live: Prime Minister of Ukraine says Russian military intervention would lead to war". The Telegraph. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
24. Appeal of the Ukrainian Churches on the Occasion of the Foreign Aggression
25. UN Security Council meets on Ukraine

v t e Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity
21 November 2013 – 23 February 2014
Main topics	Timeline of the Euromaidan Domestic responses to the Euromaidan International reactions to the Euromaidan Casualties Heavenly Hundred Order of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Damaged communist monuments
Main events	1 December 2013 riots Fall of the monument to Lenin in Kyiv 11 December 2013 assault Ukrainian–Russian action plan Anti-Maidan Vasylkiv terrorists case Anti-protest laws in Ukraine 2014 Odesa clashes 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots 2014 RSA occupations Agreement on settlement of political crisis in Ukraine Revolution of Dignity
Aftermath	2014 pro-Russian unrest Timeline Russian military intervention 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia Timeline War in Donbas timeline First Yatsenyuk government Lustration in Ukraine Decommunization in Ukraine
Elections	2014 Ukrainian presidential election 2014 Ukrainian local elections 2014 Kyiv local election 2014 Crimean status referendum 2014 Donbas status referendums 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Main places	Maidan Nezalezhnosti Mezhyhirya Khreshchatyk Lypky Bankova Street European Square Hrushevskoho Street Dynamo Stadium Kyiv City Council Trade Unions Building Ukrainian House Mariinskyi Park October Palace Kyiv Conservatory
European integration	Ukraine–European Union relations Eastern Partnership European Union Association Agreement European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement Constitution of Ukraine
Protest figures	Organizations Maidan People's Union Euromaidan Press Parliamentary opposition parties Batkivshchyna Svoboda UDAR Other parties Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists Democratic Alliance UNA–UNSO United Left and Peasants Civic organizations Automaidan Road Control Vidsich Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Militant groups Right Sector Spilna Sprava Lead figures Vitali Klitschko Arseniy Yatsenyuk Oleh Tyahnybok Petro Poroshenko Yuriy Lutsenko Oleksandr Turchynov Yulia Tymoshenko Andriy Parubiy Andriy Sadovyi Arsen Avakov Ruslana Tetiana Chornovol Dmytro Bulatov Dmytro Yarosh Refat Chubarov
Anti-protest figures	Organizations Second Azarov government Ministry of Internal Affairs Internal Troops of Ukraine Security Service of Ukraine Berkut Militsiya (Ukraine) Party of Regions Titushky Night Wolves Don Cossacks Antimaidan Lead figures Viktor Yanukovych Mykola Azarov Serhiy Arbuzov Vitaliy Zakharchenko Oleksandr Yefremov Andriy Klyuyev Hennadiy Kernes Mykhailo Dobkin Viktor Pshonka Olena Lukash Yuriy Boyko Leonid Kozhara Dmytro Tabachnyk Oleksandr Klymenko

• 2014 in Ukraine
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• History of Crimea
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