Ten years ago, on March 18, 2014, the Russians forcibly annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine

18.03.2024, 14:28 apostrophe.ua

After the forceful seizure of Crimea, on March 18, 2014, Russians formally " included" the peninsula in the Russian Federation.

Apostrophe reports on this.

On February 20, 2014, at the same time as the tragic events in Kyiv, when most people died on the Independence Square, Russia launched a planned armed aggression against Ukraine. The first step aimed at undermining Ukraine's sovereignty was the occupation of Crimea by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The date of the operation was indicated on the departmental medal "For the Return of Crimea" of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared February 20, 2014 as the date of the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia.

On February 26, a large pro-Ukrainian rally was held in Simferopol. Its participants were mostly Crimean Tatars, who did not allow the convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC. However, the next day, the Crimean parliament and government were captured by the so-called "little green men" - Russian soldiers without identification marks. They blocked Ukrainian military units and began preparations for the occupation of the peninsula. At gunpoint, members of the Supreme Council of the ARC appointed a new head of government, Sergei Aksyonov, and announced a referendum on the status of Crimea.

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On March 1, 2014, Russia officially decided to send troops into Ukraine. The formal reason for this was Yanukovych's appeal to Putin to send Russian armed forces into Ukraine, as well as Sergei Aksyonov's appeal to "ensure peace and tranquility" in Crimea.

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On March 16, 2014, the occupation authorities organized a so-called "referendum" on the status of Crimea. Its results were predictable and predetermined. Putin even called it a "return to home harbor".

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On March 18, 2024, at the request of the President of the Russian Federation, Russian legislative bodies approve the occupation of Crimea. After the annexation of Crimea, its residents were declared citizens of the Russian Federation and subject to Russian law.

Most countries of the world did not recognize the results of the so-called "referendum" and imposed sanctions against Russian business and officials. The UN General Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and other international organizations also supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemned Russia's occupation of Crimea.

Earlier, Apostrophe reported that former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed his "soft peace formula".