2014 Crimean crisis

The Crimean crisis (Ukrainian: Кримська криза, Russian: Крымский кризис, Crimean Tatar: Qırım krizisı) is an ongoing international crisis involving Russia and Ukraine, and centered on the peninsula of Crimea—a region of Ukraine that comprises a majority of ethnic Russians but that has undergone dramatic changes on its population for the past 200 years. The region is also home to several Russian military bases.

The crisis unfolded in late February 2014 in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. After months of protests by Euromaidan and days of armed violence in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, the national government of Ukraine was ousted and replaced with leaders of the opposition parties. Russia then condemned the government and has not recognized it. Russian media fuelled fear and distrust inside Ukraine by presenting the new government as "fascist" and "anti-Russian". Russia identified several political parties as being neo-fascists, including Svoboda and Right Sector, who are participating in the new Ukrainian government.

In the last days of February, unmarked soldiers claimed by Russia to be local self-defense forces but believed to be Russian soldiers in actuality, using Russian paratrooper equipment and [[GAZ Tigr|armoured personnel carrier]s gradually seized control of the peninsula and have not let in military observers sent in by OSCE. A Russian military operation inside Ukrainian territory started without declaration of war.

The Ukrainian response so far has been muted as its leaders try to find a diplomatic solution with military reaction from their part confined to a mobilization of Ukraine's armed forces and reserves. Russia, however, vowed that its troops would stay until the political situation has been normalized. At the international level, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Canada, Turkey and the European Union condemned Russia, accusing it of breaking international law and violating Ukrainian sovereignty. Russia, on the other hand, does not recognize the current government of Ukraine and claims it responded to a request made by the recently ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to intervene militarily in order to establish law and order in the region; a claim which, if true, might have made Russia consider its intervention as lawful under current treaties. Russia has also asserted that it has undertaken a humanitarian intervention in Ukraine to protect ethnic Russians from threats to their safety.

Several days later, on 6 March, the Crimean parliament voted to ask Russia for re-unification, which, if granted by Russia, would then be presented to the Crimean electorate in a referendum. The parliament, however, is surrounded and under control of unidentified armed forces, with its members being denied access to the vote and having doubt about the vote's validity. The Ukrainian government says the referendum and its outcome has no legal grounds; complicating the situation even further as the Crimean parliament, in turn, does not consider the newly installed Ukrainian government as legitimate.

Background

See also: History of Crimea, Deportation of the Crimean Tatars, Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, and 2010 Kharkiv Pact

Map of the Crimean peninsula. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is colored yellow while Sevastopol is colored red.

Distribution of ethnicities in the Crimean peninsula according to the local 2001 census. Ethnic Russians comprise a majority at 58%.

The Crimean Khanate, a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, was conquered by the Russian Empire in 1783. Following its incorporation into the Russian Empire, Crimea became the "heart of Russian Romanticism" and the region continued to attract vacationers well after the Russian Empire was replaced by the Soviet Union. Crimea had autonomy within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic as the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1921 until 1945, when Joseph Stalin deported the Crimean Tatars, and abolished Crimean autonomy. In 1954, the Soviet leadership under Nikita Khrushchev who was himself half-Ukrainian transferred the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR, in a "symbolic gesture" that seemed insignificant at the time, since both republics were a part of the Soviet Union. Crimea's pre-1945 autonomy was re-established with the Crimean sovereignty referendum in 1991, the final year of the Soviet Union's existence.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea has been part of an independent Ukraine since 1991, when the former constituent Republics of the Soviet Union became independent states. In 1992, the Crimean Parliament voted to hold a referendum to declare independence, while the Russian Parliament voted to void the cession of Crimea to Ukraine. In 1994, Russian nationalist Yuri Meshkov won the 1994 Crimean presidential election and organized a referendum on Crimea's status. Later in that same year, Crimea's legal status as part of Ukraine was recognized by Russia, which pledged to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the Budapest memorandum signed in 1994. This treaty (or "executive agreement" for purposes of US law), was also signed by the United States, United Kingdom, and France. However Ukraine revoked the Crimean constitution and abolished the office of Crimean President in 1995. Crimea would gain a new constitution in 1998 that granted the Crimean parliament lesser powers than the previous constitution, including no legislative initiative. Crimean officials would later seek to restore the powers of the previous constitution. The future of Russian naval bases in Crimea have been a point of contention in Russian-Ukrainian relations. The 2010 Kharkiv Pact extended the Russian lease of the base to 2042 in exchange for discounts on Russian natural gas, but was denounced by opposition groups in Ukraine.

According to the 2001 census, ethnic Russians make up about 58% of the two million residents of Crimea. In Sevastopol, which houses a base for the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, ethnic Russians make up 70% of the city's population of 340,000. Ukrainians make up 24% of the Crimean population, while 12% are Crimean Tatars. Ethnic Russians did not become the largest population group in Crimea until the 20th century, after Stalin ordered the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1945. Crimean Tatars were not permitted to return to Crimea after their deportation in 1945, and became an international cause célèbre, until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The continuing return of Crimean Tatars to their homeland in Crimea since the Soviet collapse has caused persistent tensions with the Slavic population of the peninsula. The leader of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov accused Ukrainian politicians of unreasonable delays in restoring the rights of Tatar people in their own land, but protested against the intervention of Russia.

In the 2010 local parliamentary elections, the Party of Regions received 357,030 votes, while the second-placed Ukrainian Communist Party received 54,172 votes. Both parties were targeted by protesters during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.

According to the International Centre for Defense Studies, since the Orange Revolution in 2004, Russia has pressured Ukraine for its preferences to associate itself with the West. It has been stated that the information campaign in Crimea has become especially proficient and systematic, becoming particularly intense during the 2006–08 Ukraine bid for NATO membership. Each of Ukraines' attempts to achieve European integration has led to increased Russian hostility to the idea via its use of information campaign. Russia opposes Ukrainian integration with the West for various reasons, including a fear of NATO expanding to Russia's Western borders and Russia's claimed desire to include Ukraine in an Eurasian Union.

According to Taras Kuzio, during the Viktor Yushchenko presidency (2005–2010), Russia's relations with Ukraine deteriorated, prompting the Russian security service (FSB) and Russian military intelligence (GRU) to expand their covert support for pro-Russian forces in Southern Ukraine and Russian separatists in Crimea. Following the Orange Revolution and the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, American diplomatic cables leaked to the public noted that Russian military action against Ukraine was "no longer unthinkable."

Revolution in Kiev

Main articles: Euromaidan and 2014 Ukrainian revolution

Towards the end of 2013, Euromaidan protests began over the issue of the accession of Ukraine to the European Union, which the elected President Viktor Yanukovich rejected because he had struck a deal with Putin which meant, among other things, that Russia would buy $15 billion in Ukrainian bonds, and discount gas prices to Ukraine by one-third. Tyahnybok, leader of an opposition far-right group was suspicious of the true cost to the Ukraine for Russian support.

The protests escalated in early 2014 and eventually led to deaths of both protesters and government forces between 18 and 20 February. At least 88 people were killed, including at least seven police. President Yanukovich and the opposition leaders signed a compromise deal on February 21 that was brokered by foreign negotiators, but it soon became redundant as Yanukovich fled the capital and protesters took control of the city without resistance. The Ukrainian parliament voted to impeach Yanukovich, and members of the opposition formed a new government. Russia refused to recognize the new authorities in Kiev, saying that they had come to power through armed insurrection by extreme-right political forces and unconstitutional methods. Several Western countries immediately recognized the new regime in Kiev.

Some residents of the eastern and southern parts of the country, which are primarily Russian-speaking and constitute President Yanukovich's support base, felt disenfranchised by these developments and protested against the new regime in Kiev. The Parliament of Crimea called for an extraordinary session on 21 February. The leader of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov stated that he suspected that the session might ask for Russian military intervention.

On 21 February 2014, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) issued a statement which promised that "it will use severe measures to prevent any action taken against diminishing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine." The same day the pro-Russian Party of Regions who held 80 of the 100 seats in the Crimean Parliament, did not discuss issues relating to the separation of Crimea from Ukraine and appeared to support the deal struck between President Yanukovich and the opposition to end the crises signed the same day.

On 23 February 2014, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a bill to repeal the law on minority languages, which—if signed by the Ukrainian President—would have established Ukrainian as the sole official state language of all Ukraine, including Crimea which is populated by a Russian-speaking majority. The Christian Science Monitor reported: "The [adoption of this bill] only served to infuriate Russian-speaking regions, [who] saw the move as more evidence that the antigovernment protests in Kiev that toppled Yanukovich's government were intent on pressing for a nationalistic agenda." A few days later, however, on 1 March 2014, the "Acting President" of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, vetoed the bill effectively stopping its enactment.

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union have both denied any human rights violations against Russian speakers in the Ukraine that would justify Russia's actions.

Timeline of the events

Main article: Timeline of the 2014 Crimean crisis

February

File:Crimean parliament in Simferopol.JPG

The Supreme Council of Crimea building in Simferopol

See also: Crimean referendum, 2014

22 February 2014 In Sevastopol in Crimea thousands of people waved placards calling for "Mother Russia" to save them. Thousands protested against the new regime in Kiev and voted to establish a parallel administration and civil defense squads created with the support of Russian Night Wolves bikers. In Simferopol, Ukrainian media claim that on 23 February 2014 a pro-Euromaidan rally of between 5,000–15,000 was held in support of the new Ukrainian authorities. On 24 February the Prime Minister of Crimea Anatolii Mohyliov declared that the region would carry out all laws passed by the Ukrainian parliament. That same day, more protesters rallied outside the Sevastopol administration offices. Pro-Russian demonstrators accompanied by neo-Cossacks demanded the selection of a Russian citizen as mayor (which was refused by the city council) and planted Russian flags at city hall; they also handed out leaflets calling for volunteers to a militia and warning that the "Blue-Brown Europlague is knocking." On 25 February, several hundred pro-Russian protesters gathered at the Crimean parliament demanding a referendum on Crimea's independence.

24 February 2014 Sevastopol chose Aleksei Chalyi as mayor replacing a mayor appointed from Kiev, Vladimir Yatsuba. In Simferopol, the Regional State Administration building was blockaded with hundreds of protesters demanding a referendum of separation. On 26 February thousands of protesters clashed in Simferopol. One media website claimed that least a dozen self defence volunteers took control of the main route of access to Sevastopol. setting up a checkpoint, with military vehicles under a Russian flag, on the main highway between the city and Simferopol.

File:МИТИНГ ТАТАР В КРЫМУ! Евромайдан.WebM

A Crimean Tatars demonstration, 26 February 2014.

27 February 2014 A group of unidentified armed men entered Crimea's parliament building hoisting a Russian flag on the roof and Council of Ministers building. They were cheered by Crimean demonstrators who gathered round the buildings. They were said to be professionals and armed with rifles. The Ukrainian organization Right Sector officially announced that it does not intend to participate in any conflict on the territory of Crimea. The new Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, warned "We must immediately declare that anyone who is on the streets with guns – these people are prosecuted by law".

Unmarked soldiers on patrol at Simferopol International Airport, 28 February 2014

28 February 2014 A group of 50–119 soldiers in military uniform without insignia of identification moved in on Simferopol International Airport. Later in the day, the Sevastopol International Airport was occupied in a similar manner as Simferopol's airport. A missile boat of the Russian Federation blocked the Balaklava Harbor, where ships of the Ukrainian Sea Guard are stationed. Eight Russian military helicopters were moved to Sevastopol from Anapa. Serhiy Kunitsyn claimed to journalists that 13 Russian planes IL-76 with Russian Airborne Troops landed in the Hvardiyske military airport in Hvardiiske. Kunitsyn stated that each plane may hold about 150 people. The claims were never confirmed. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine acknowledged the threat of possible takeovers of military units in Crimea during the night on Saturday by radical forces. Facing possible Russian intervention, US President Barack Obama stated that any military action would "Come at a cost," following his denunciation of Russian aggression in the region. Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said that any Russian military movements in Crimea were within Moscow's long-standing arrangement with Ukraine on the deployment of military assets.

March

See also: 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine

File:VOA Crimea occupation report.webm

Crimea occupation report by VOA, 28. February 2014

File:Selbstverteidigung.jpg

A Crimean self-defense militia stands guard with riot shields painted in the Crimean tricolor flag in Simferopol, 2 March 2014

Unmarked Russian soldiers in Simferopol, 2 March 2014

1 March 2014 The new Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov appealed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin for help to ensure peace. Protests against the new regime in Kiev and in support of Russians in Crimea occurred throughout Eastern and Southern Ukraine on 1 March. The acting president of Ukraine, Turchynov, signed a decree declaring the appointment of Sergei Aksyonov as the head of the government of Crimea to be unconstitutional. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally asked the Federation Council for permission to use Russian military forces in Ukraine. Hours later, the Federation Council voted unanimously to grant permission. The Consulate of the Russian Federation in Simferopol started to issue Russian passports to former Berkut police who were fleeing Ukraine. The Ukrainian Navy did not leave its base in Sevastopol, Ukrainian journalists were prohibited from entering the Crimean region. Ukrainian media claimed that decisions to replace the government and hold a referendum in Crimea were falsified. According to Damon Wilson, vice president of the Atlantic Council, the United States Congress was "considering authorizing [a] defense arms package to Ukraine".

2 March 2014 RIA Novosti reported that units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces assigned to Crimea were resigning on a "massive scale". </ref> "Acting President" Olexander Turchynov ordered all Ukrainian military reservists to be called up. At a Ukrainian military base near the village of Perevalne, there was a standoff between a handful of Ukrainian marines loyal to Kiev and the surrounding Russian/Crimean forces. The newly appointed chief of the Ukrainian Navy, Denis Berezovsky, announced in a televised statement that he refuses to follow orders from the regime in Kiev and allegiance to the Crimea. He was replaced by Serhiy Hayduk. The government of Crimea announced the formation of its own Defence Ministry.

4 March 2014 According to Ukrainian officials, Ukrainian troops stationed in Crimea were urged to surrender by 4 March at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) or face an armed confrontation via an ultimatum issued by Alexander Vitko, the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. This ultimatum was however denied by Russian officials and tured out to be false as no confrontations were reported after the deadline expired. Russian soldiers seized a ferry terminal in the city of Kerch, the easternmost point of Crimea.

5 March 2014 The Council of Ministers of Crimea announced that "more than 700 soldiers and officers" from the 50th, 55th and 147th antiaircraft missile regiments, stationed in Yalta, Feodosia and Fiolent respectively, defected to the ARC side by "declaring their readiness to defend the population of Crimea". This is in addition to the 204th Fighter Unit of the Ukrainian Air Force, which defected on 3 March. Altogether, as of 5 March the Crimeans claim to have 6000 defectors from the Ukrainian Armed Forces on their side. Also, three deputies of the Batkivshchyna party submitted a bill in the Verkhovna Rada that would abolish the country's official neutrality, and make "Euro-Atlantic integration and NATO membership" a foreign policy priority for Ukraine.

Robert Serry, the UN secretary-general's envoy to Crimea, left Ukraine after being besieged by an angry mob chanting pro-Russia slogans. Serry is expected to continue his work in Kiev due to situation in Crimea.

The Shevchenko district court of Kiev ruled on the detention of the self-proclaimed leaders Sergey Aksyonov and Vladimir Konstantinov. The Security Service of Ukraine was charged to bring them to court. The General Prosecutor of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings against the commander of Black Sea Fleet Aleksandr Vitko on the facts of incitement to treason and sabotage organization.

A wiretapped telephone conversation was leaked on YouTube of Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton discussing the issue of sniper-rifle fire during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Speaking about a doctor named Olga who was on the scene, Paet told Ashton, "The same Olga told that, well, all the evidence shows that people who were killed by snipers from both sides among policemen and then people from the street [sic]. So that there is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition." The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later issued a statement confirming the tape's authenticity, but denied that "the new coalition" refers to the protesters who later overthrew Yanukovich and installed a new government in Kiev. Olga Bogomolets, the doctor who allegedly told Paet about the snipers, denied claiming that protesters and Berkut troops came under fire from one single source and stated that she only saw the protesters' wounds, and that the government assured her that an investigation would be opened.

6 March 2014 The Supreme Council of Crimea voted for full accession as part of the Russian Federation after over more than 6 decades as part of Ukraine. The Supreme Council's decision will be put to the Crimean people via referendum if the request is granted by Russia. The previously announced referendum scheduled for 30 March, will be moved up to 16 March 2014, and its question will be altered to reflect the Supreme Council's 6 March vote of whether to accept reunification with Russia or not. A Ukrainian government minister argued that any referendum would be unconstitutional. Council member Pilunsky declared that the decision did not meet the quorum.

Observers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) made attempts to get inside the Crimean peninsula, however they were stopped at border checkpoints by self-defence forces. The contingent consists of 42 people from 22 countries and led by Hungarian Lt. Col. Gábor Ács. The mission arrived in Ukraine on 6 March and has a mandate to work in Crimea till March 12. They were deterred by warning shots while attempting to enter Crimea on 8 March.

7 March 2014 Three Ukrainian television channels have been shut down in the Crimea, including the largest local broadcaster not run by the Crimean state, and two that have been replaced by Russian state television.

Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists have both claimed that human rights of journalists, human rights activists, and pro-Ukrainian protestors have been violated by the occupying forces. John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Director at Amnesty International stated "Attempting to monitor the human rights situation in Crimea has become a near impossible task. Self-styled Crimean self-defence groups are harassing pro-Ukrainian protesters, journalists and human rights monitors with complete impunity,"

9 March 2014 In Sevastopol, clashes took place during a rally in Crimea celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. Russian state media denounced the pro-Ukrainian rally as being instigated by radicals from Western Ukraine who started shouting Nazi slogans and later opened fire on a nearby peaceful counter demonstration. However many independent news source stated that the pro-Ukrainian rallies were largely peaceful and attended by local Crimean inhabitants opposed to Russia's involvement in the crisis.. Members of the mainly elderly pro-Ukrainian protests were then chased and attacked by a pro-Russian crowd which included Cossacks and pro-Russian Self defense squads.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron that the steps taken by authorities in Ukraine's Crimea region were in accordance with international law.

Allegations emerged that mercenaries from the U.S. defense-contracting firm Academi (Blackwater) were used by the pro-Kiev authorities in Donetsk to suppress the local pro-Russian protesters there. Meanwhile, pro-Russian protesters successfully occupied the Regional Administration building in Lugansk on March 9, forcing the pro-Kiev governor to resign and flee the city, in addition to demanding a referendum on secession of Lugansk from Ukraine. On the following day, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that Russia is "outraged by the chaos which is currently ruling in eastern regions of Ukraine," which The Washington Post interpreted as potentially being a "pretext for Russian military intervention into areas of Ukraine beyond Crimea."

Other (non-Russian) involvement

On 2 March 2014, Pavel Chernev, former member of the nationalist Attack party and current political secretary of "Orthodox Dawn" (Bulgarian: Православна Зора, Pravoslavna Zora) who is known for his pro-Putin views, revealed that the Bulgarian branch of the organization will be sending a group of Bulgarian volunteers to "protect ethnic Russians and ethnic Bulgarians from forceful Ukrainization". Chernev also claimed that they had already sponsored "tens of Orthodox fighters" (non-Bulgarian) to fly to Moscow and Crimea. Simeon Kostadinov, another former Attack member, representing the Nationalist Party in Bulgaria, and Chernev clarified that their mission has peaceful intentions, but will be prepared to give a good account of themselves in the unfortunate event of an escalation. Their contention is that the old regime was preferable from the standpoint of the Bulgarian minority in Ukraine and the new authorities lack legitimacy. Another small "international group" supported by a Russian paramilitary organization from the Pyrennean peninsula is also claimed to have left for Ukraine on 3 March. "Orthodox Dawn" have displayed interest in securing the backing of international actors for the 2014 referendum in Crimea and will try to recruit foreign election observers. According to Bulgarian sources, drawing on reports made by Al Jazeera, 20 Bulgarian nationals are currently in Crimea. They are part of the paramilitary formation Dobrovolets/Доброволец, which is under the control of Russian troops. Dobrovolets' area of operations also intends to include Odessa and Donetsk. Chernev will be visiting Crimea on 15 March and claims that all the participants in the mission have undergone thorough background checks to ensure that people with criminal convictions are weeded out. Anton Kisse, the only deputy in the Verkhovna Rada with Bulgarian roots, while acknowledging the pro-Russian sentiments among the majority of Bulgarians, Moldovans, Gagauz and Albanians inhabiting Bessarabia, has spoken out against any foreign interventions stating that "even the friendliest foreign state has no right to impose its vision of what constitutes proper order on Ukraine" and that "people will turn to Bulgaria if the need arises".

A group of Chetniks, a Serbian nationalist paramilitary force, have travelled to Crimea to support Russia. Serbian and Russian nationalists share Slavic and Orthodox culture and anti-Western sentiment, and Chetniks claim to be in Russia's favour for support during the Yugoslav Wars.

Economic consequences

As a result of the crisis, the two leading indexes of the Moscow Exchange fell in trading on 3 March 2014: the MICEX 10 declined 10.79 percent, equating to a loss in market capitalization of nearly $60 billion, and the RTS Index declined 12.01 percent to its lowest level since September 2009. The next day, though, the MICEX rose 5.25%, recovering part of the losses. In response to this and the decline of the ruble, the Central Bank of Russia raised its interest rate from 5.5 to 7.0% and spent up to US$12 billion in reserves to bolster the currency. The possibility for international sanctions against Russia has also been raised.

There are worries that Russian gas exports into Europe and Ukraine may become disrupted by the current conflict. Thirty percent of Europe's gas is imported from Russia, half of which flows through Ukrainian pipelines. On 1 March Russian Energy Ministry decided to halt the subsidies of Russian gas for Ukraine. The crisis could also affect worldwide grain supplies. Prices will likely rise because Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of wheat and grain.

Domestic responses

Ukraine

Share of Ukrainian citizens who think that Ukraine should unite with Russia in one country, by region, February 2014

Three ex‐presidents of Ukraine accused Russia of interfering in Crimean affairs. Ultimate coup beneficiary Oleksandr Turchynov at the start of the protests warned that there is a "serious risk" of separatism in parts of the country. On 27 February 2014, the Central Election Commission of Ukraine claimed that regional referendum is impossible due to lack of necessary legislative basis for such. On 27 February 2014, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov was instructed to develop a new law "about language".

The new Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated in his maiden speech on 27 February that "Ukraine will use all legal constitutional methods to preserve the territorial integrity of the state. Crimea was, is and will be a part of Ukraine!".

On 27 February 2014, the MFA of Ukraine, in response to the MID statement, stated that the responsibility for non-compliance with the agreement on settlement of the crisis lies on President Viktor Yanukovych. "In Ukraine, the importance of the crisis settlement Agreement, signed on 21 February 2014 by the lawful President of Ukraine and opposition leaders, and witnessed by officials of Germany, France and Poland, is honoured. In this regard, we express disappointment that the representative of the Russian Federation, who also participated in the negotiation and drafting of the document, refused to testify this Agreement. It is possible that it was that factor that become at the end one of the reasons for the rejection by the lawfully elected President of Ukraine to fulfill arrangements of the Agreement aimed at stabilizing the domestic life in the country," – said in the document.

On 28 February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on events in Crimea: "Verkhovna Rada demands from the Russian Federation to stop steps that have signs of encroachment on state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including to refuse supporting separatism in Ukraine in any form".

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov dismissed Yuriy Ilyin as the Chief of the General Staff. During the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution Ilyin was reportedly preparing a military operation against the protest movement in Kiev. Ilyin reportedly had a heart attack after meeting with the newly appointed mayor of Sevastopol.

Due to the events in Crimea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine initiated bilateral consultations with Russia and indicated its readiness to initiate consultations within the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances framework if it receives no response.

The General Prosecutor office intended to raise the issue of the extradition of Viktor Yanukovych, who was confirmed to be in Russia. On 28 February, foreign observers speculated that Russia could extradite Yanukovych to the proper authorities only in exchange for Ukrainian non-intervention in Crimea. On 28 February the General Prosecutor of Ukraine Oleh Makhnitsky formally asked Russia to extradite Yanukovych.

On 28 February Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of the Right Sector, denounced reports of Right Sector putting together armed units to be sent to Crimea; "Right Sector hopes that a way out of this difficult situation will be found exclusively in the political field, without using forcible methods. Right Sector believes that all parties and non-governmental organizations of Ukraine should forget strife and unite when it comes to the preservation of Ukraine's integrity. We should help politicians in settling this conflict peacefully". On 1 March initial reports said that Dmytro Yarosh asked Dokka Umarov, a Chechen militant associated with al-Qaeda, for support of Ukraine; but later it was announced that this was a fake statement from his hacked account.

On 1 March 2014, the acting president of Ukraine signed an edict in which he pointed out that appointment of Sergey Aksyonov as the Chairman of the Councils of Ministers of Crimea was in violation of the Constitution of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

The incumbent and two former presidents of Ukraine – Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko—called on Ukraine to renounce the Kharkiv Agreements. Leonid Kuchma's press-center later denounced such a statement on behalf of Leonid Kuchma.

On 1 March 2014, the acting President of Ukraine purportedly ordered the Armed Forces of Ukraine to full combat readiness.

On 1 March the Oblast council of Luhansk Oblast voted to demand giving Russian language the status of second official language, stopping ″persecution of Berkut fighters″, disarming Maidan self-defense units and banning a number of far-right political organizations like Svoboda and UNA-UNSO. In the case of the authorities failing to comply with the demands, the Oblast council reserved itself the ″right to ask for help from the brotherly people of the Russian Federation.″

The General Prosecutor of Ukraine filed new charges against the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, accusing him, among other charges, of calls to overthrow the constitutional order in Ukraine.

On 4 March 2014 the district administration court of Kiev cancelled the decision of the council concerning a no confidence vote to the Council of Ministers of Crimea and the appointment of Aksyonov as a chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea as well as declared illegal organization and conduct of a local referendum on improving the status and powers of autonomy.

Crimea

Map denoting the subdivisions of Ukraine and the percentage of people that indicated Russian as their native language in the latest local census. Sevastopol identifies itself as the highest at 90.6% followed immediately by Crimea at 77.0%.

Operations of the Kerch ferry were suspended on 27 February 2014. The Ukrainians in Crimea called on Ukrainian officials to secure peace and security for Crimeans and for European officials to influence the Russian position in regards to separatist attitudes. The new chairman of the Council of Ministers hopes to receive financial help from the Russian Federation with support from Viktor Yanukovych. In the telephone conversation Volodymyr Konstantinov explained to Nestor Shufrych (MP) that Crimea does not want a secession, but only to expand its right. The former chief of the general staff Yuriy Ilyin was reported to be hospitalized with a heart attack in the Ukrainian Navy hospital in Sevastopol.

Members of the Crimean government have declared their acceptance of Yanukovych as the legitimate President of Ukraine, deputy chairman of the Crimean parliament Konstantin Bakharev has said: "Today, Yanukovych is the legitimate president," though he also addressed issues concerning him saying, "But we have questions for him, questions as the leader of the government about his moral responsibility before the society, before the party he once led, and before Crimeans."

Viktor Yanukovych

Late at night on 27 February 2014, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, who is wanted along with Zakharchenko under suspicion of mass killing of people, arrived in Rostov-on-Don escorted by jet fighters. On 28 February he conducted a press-conference. In this press conference Yanukovych stated "Crimea must remain part of the Ukrainian state retaining broad autonomy rights". According to him the unrest in Crimea was "an absolutely natural reaction to the bandit coup that has occurred in Kiev"; and he stated he was confident that the people of Crimea "do not want to obey and will not obey nationalists and bandits". He insisted that military action was "unacceptable" and that he would not request Russian military intervention. Still on 4 March 2014 Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin showed a photocopy of the letter allegedly signed by Victor Yanukovich on 1 March 2014 where he demanded Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

The Russian Federation

The State Duma Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, headed by Leonid Slutsky, visited Simferopol on 25 February 2014 and said: "If the parliament of the Crimean autonomy or its residents express the wish to join the Russian Federation, Russia will be prepared to consider this sort of application. We will be examining the situation and doing so fast." They also stated that in the event of a referendum for Crimea region joining Russian Federation they would consider its results "very fast". Later Slutsky announced that he was misunderstood by Crimean press and no decision regarding simplifying the process of acquiring Russian citizenship for people in Crimea has been made yet. And added that if "fellow Russian citizens are in jeopardy you understand that we do not stay away". On 25 February in a meeting with Crimean politicians he stated that Viktor Yanukovich was still the legitimate president of Ukraine. That same day in the Russian Duma, they announced they were determining measures so that Russians in Ukraine who 'did not want to break from the Russian World' could acquire Russian citizenship.

On 26 February 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian Armed Forces to be "put on alert in the Western Military District as well as units stationed with the 2nd Army Central Military District Command involved in aerospace defense, airborne troops and long-range military transport." Despite media speculation it was for in reaction to the events in Ukraine Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said it was in separate consideration from the unrest in Ukraine. On 27 February 2014, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed any accusations about violation by the Russian side of the basic agreements in regards of the Black Sea Fleet: "All movements of armored vehicles are undertaken in full compliance with the basic agreements and did not require any approvals". That claim was also supported by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Anatoliy Antonov.

On 27 February 2014, the Russian governing agencies presented the new law project on granting citizenship.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the West and particularly NATO to "abandon the provocative statements and respect the neutral status of Ukraine". In its statement the ministry claims that agreement on settlement of the crisis which was signed on 21 February and was witnessed by foreign ministries from Germany, Poland and France has to this date, not been implemented (Vladimir Lukin from Russia had not signed it).

According to RIA News, the political faction A Just Russia initiated in the State Duma amendments to the law on accession to the Russian Federation.

According to ITAR-TASS on 28 February the Russian Ministry of Transport discontinued its further talks with Ukraine in regards to the Kerch Strait Bridge project. However, on 3 March Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Russia, signed a decree creating a subsidiary of Russian Highways (Avtodor) to build a bridge at an unspecified location along the Kerch strait.

On Russian social networks there is a movement to gather volunteers who served in the Russian army to go to Ukraine.

On 28 February President Putin stated it was of "extreme importance of not allowing a further escalation of violence and the necessity of a rapid normalisation of the situation in Ukraine" in telephone calls with key EU leaders. Already on 19 February the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to the Euromaidan revolution as the "Brown revolution".

The Federation Council approved that Russia may introduce a limited contingent of Russian troops in Crimea for the security of the Black Sea Fleet and the Russians.

In Moscow, on 2 March an estimated 27,000 rallied in support of the Russian government's decision to intervene in Ukraine. Up to 15,000 participated in a similar rally in St. Petersburg, while around 12,000 rallied in Krasnodar. The rallies received considerable attention on Russian state TV and were officially sanctioned by the government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (seated, middle) speaks to the press on 4 March, denouncing the events in Kiev as an "unconstitutional coup", and insisting that Moscow has a right to protect Russians in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, on 1 March five people who were picketing next to the Federation Council building against the invasion of Ukraine were arrested. The next day about 200 people protested at the building of the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow against Russian military involvement. About 500 people also gathered to protest on the Manezhnaya Square in Moscow and the same number of people on the Saint Isaac's Square in Saint Petersburg. On 2 March about eleven protesters demonstrated in Yekaterinburg against Russian involvement, with some wrapped in the Ukrainian flag. Protests were also held in Chelyabinsk on the same day. The opposition to the military intervention was also expressed by rock musician Andrey Makarevich, who wrote in particular: "You want war with Ukraine? It will not be the way it was with Abkhazia: the folks on the Maidan have been hardened and know what they are fighting for – for their country, their independence. [...] We have to live with them. Still neighborly. And preferably in friendship. But it's up to them how they want to live". The Professor of the Department of Philosophy at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Andrey Zubov was fired for his article in Vedomosti, criticizing Russian military intervention.

State-run pollster VTSIOM released an opinion poll conducted on 1–2 March showing that President Vladimir Putin's approval rating increased among the Russian public since the Crimean crisis began, up to 67.8%, which is Putin's highest approval rating since May 2012. Additionally, 71% of respondents agreed with the statement that Russia should "more actively defend the interests of Russians in Crimea", while only 17% thought it would be "better not to come into conflict with the Ukrainian authorities".

On 4 March 2014 at press conference in Novo-Ogaryovo President Putin expressed his view on the situation that if a revolution took place in Ukraine, it is a new country with which Russia did not conclude any treaties. He brought up an analogy with events of 1917 in Russia, when as a result of the revolution the Russian Empire fell apart and a new state was created. However, he stated Ukraine would still have to honor its debts.

Russian politicians have speculated that there are already 143,000 Ukrainian refugees in Russia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted those claims of refugees increase in Russia. At a briefing on 4 March 2014, the director of department of information policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebiynis claimed that Russia was misinforming its own citizens as well as the entire international community to justify own actions in the Crimea.

On 5 March 2014 an anchor of the Russian-owned international news channel RT America, Abby Martin, in an interview with Piers Morgan, said she "did not agree" with how her employer RT was covering the Ukrainian crisis, but claims RT still supports her despite her differences of opinion. Also on 5 March 2014, another RT America anchor, Liz Wahl, of the network's Washington, DC bureau, resigned on air, explaining that she could not be "part of a network that whitewashes the actions of Putin" and citing her Hungarian ancestry and the memory of the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Uprising as a factor in her decision.

International reactions

Main article: International reactions to the 2014 Crimean crisis

International reaction to the 2014 Crimean crisis according to official governmental statements.

  for peaceful resolution of the conflict and...

  - support of the Ukraine territorial integrity

  - condemnation of the Russian actions

  - interpretation of the Russian actions as a military intervention

  - support of Russian interests in Crimea

  - support of Russian actions

  Ukraine

  Russia

International reaction to the Crimean crisis, particularly from United States and European Union, is almost universally critical of Russia's decision to intervene and supportive of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also urging a quick and peaceful resolution. The United States government has imposed sanctions against persons they deem to have violated or assisted in the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. The European Union has suspended talks with Russia on economic and visa related matters; and is considering more stringent sanctions against Russia in the near future, including asset freezes. The United Nations Security Council has held three emergency sessions since 28 February. The G7 bloc of developed nations (the G8 minus Russia) made a joint statement condemning Russia and announced that they will suspend preparations for the upcoming G8 summit in Sochi in June. The Visegrád Group has issued a joint statement urging Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and for Ukraine to take into account its minority groups to not further break fragile relations. It has urged for Russia to respect Ukrainian and international law and in line with the provisions of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

Refusing to directly condemn Russia, China said "We respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine". A spokesman restated China's belief of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations and urged dialogue. However, India said that Russia has "legitimate interests" in Crimea and called for "sustained diplomatic efforts" and "constructive dialogue" to resolve the crisis. The only currently known state to openly support Russian military actions is Syria. President Bashar al Assad said that he supports Putin's efforts to "restore security and stability in the friendly country of Ukraine."

Legal aspects

See 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine: Legal aspects for more detail

Both Russia and Ukraine are signatories to the Charter of the United Nations. The ratification of said charter has several ramifications in terms of international law, particularly those that cover the subjects of sovereignty, self-determination, acts of aggression, and humanitarian emergencies. Vladimir Putin on one hand, claims that the Russian intervention on Ukraine is for humanitarian purposes. Ukraine and other nations, on the other hand, argue that such intervention is a violation to Ukraine's sovereignty.

Commentary

Several scholars, including Alexander J. Motyl, Paul A. Goble, Timothy D. Snyder, and Andreas Umland, have discussed the possibility of Russian military intervention in Crimea specifically, due to its unique geopolitical nature and demographics.

Nina L. Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and a Russian Affairs professor at the The New School, says that the aim of Crimea is not necessarily independence from Ukraine, but rather continued dependence on Russia. However, this has instead led Putin to justify continued backing for Yanukovych as well as his own desires to re-take the peninsula. Nevertheless, she acknowledges that Putin's long term goal may not be annexation of Crimea, since this could cause ethnic Crimean Tatars, who had been forcibly displaced by Stalin to Central Asia, to demand a return to Crimea and possibly cause the Islamic insurgency to spread out of the Northern Caucasus. Furthermore, she also states that if Russia sets a precedent of recovering "lost territory", this could inspire countries such as China or Georgia to demand back their own "stolen lands".

Volodymyr Panchenko, of the Kiev-based think-tank International Center for Policy Studies, says that the aim of Russia is for Crimea to be "more or less controlled by Russian troops," but that if or when a referendum is held "more than 80 percent" of votes would be for secession from Ukraine. The way events are unfolding in Crimea "is not a good precedent for the other provinces."

Jack F. Matlock, the Reagan-era US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, writes that the reaction in Washington and European capitals to the crisis is one of "hysteria" and he believes US President Barack Obama erred when Obama made a public warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin about intervening in Ukraine. Matlock hypothesizes that Ukraine's current predicament stems from its failure to overcome its internal divisions or to "unite its citizens in a shared concept of Ukrainian identity". Matlock believes that Russia is behaving rationally, as it feels threatened by the eastern expansion of NATO towards its borders and provocative policies and actions by Ukrainian nationalists based in the western regions of Ukraine.

Russian opposition leader, chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Ukrainian MP Lesya Orobets (Batkivshchyna), former foreign minister of the Czech Republic, Karel Schwarzenberg, as well as the Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada John Baird compared Russia's actions to Nazi Germany's policy before the start of World War II, after the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Ukraine's Chief Rabbi, Yaakov Bleich, described Putin's accusations of anti-semitism from Ukrainians towards Jews as a pretense for invasion as "what the Nazis did during the time of the Anschluss in Austria."

A commentary published by China's Xinhua News Agency blamed the situation on Western powers' interference in Ukraine. They were accused of helping to topple the pro-Russian government under the pretence of supporting democracy, creating a mess in which the Ukrainian people were victims. The writer said the West's diminished moral authority and financial reserves contrasted with Russia's will to protect its core interests in Ukraine: "when it comes to [Russia's] backyard, Russian leaders once again proved their credibility and shrewdness in planning and executing effective counter moves" The Global Times said in its editorial that China's policy of non-interference was "the mentality of the weak", and that Europe and the US were making a strategic play in Ukraine, and that China should align itself with Russia. It said that the Chinese public "should firmly stand by Russia and support its resistance to pressure from the West", to the extent of even providing assistance in the event of sanctions.

George Galloway, MP from the Respect Party, supported the Russian decision to enter Crimea, and criticized the new government in Kiev as fascist.

Places related to the Crimean crisis 2014

• Armyansk, a checkpoint, on 2nd March, 2014
• Chonhar, a checkpoint, on 8th March, 2014
• Donuzlav Lake, sinking of a tugboat and an anti-submarine ship, on 5th and 6th March, 2014

See also

2

References

Footnotes

Other references

2

Further reading

• Bremmer, Ian (1994). "The Politics of Ethnicity: Russians in the New Ukraine". Europe-Asia Studies. 46 (2): 261–283. doi:10.1080/09668139408412161.
• Hagendoorn, A.; Linssen, H.; Tumanov, S. V. (2001). Intergroup Relations in States of the former Soviet Union: The Perception of Russians. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1-84169-231-X.
• Legvold, Robert (2013). Russian Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century and the Shadow of the Past. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-51217-6.
• Snyder, T. Beneath the Hypocrisy, Putin Is Vulnerable. Here's Where His Soft Spots Are. New Republic. 1 March 2014.

External links

• Ukraine crisis, BBC News
• "Ukraine crisis", The Daily Telegraph.
• Ukraine crisis, Al Jazeera America
• Ukraine crisis, RT America
• Ukraine crisis, Ukrinform