Capture of the Crimean Parliament
| Capture of the Crimean Supreme Council | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the Ukraine Crisis | |||||||
 Troops without insignia at the building of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russia |
 Ukraine | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Alexey Dyumin (General commander of Russian forces) Alexander Popov(Russian special forces commander) | Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Armed Forces of Ukraine | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20–120 troops | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | None | ||||||
The capture of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on 27 February 2014 is an episode of the Crimean crisis. The Crimean Prosecutor's Office considered the incident as a terrorist attack.[1]
Background
On February 25, a pro-Russian rally organized by the Crimean Front and Cossack organizations was held under the building of the Crimean Verkhovna Rada. The protesters shouted pro-Russian slogans and demanded separation from Ukraine by holding a referendum. Before the protesters came the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC Volodymyr Konstantinov, announcing the extraordinary session of February 26.[2] The media reported that a question about the withdrawal of the Crimea from Ukraine could be put to the session, but Konstantinov denied such rumors, calling it the provocation of the "Makeevka team in the Crimean government".[3]
On February 26, two events took place in parallel by the walls of the ARC Verkhovna Rada: a pro-Ukrainian rally organized by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, which gathered up to 10 thousand participants, and a pro-Russian rally of about 700 people, initiated by the party "Rus unity".[4] Due to unsatisfactory security measures taken by law enforcement officers, there were fights between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian rally participants, resulting in the death of 2 people of the pro-Russian rally. The pro-Russian rally was pushed to the inner court of the Crimean Verkhovna Rada, and scheduled the day before parliament's session was canceled.[5]
The course of events
On the morning of February 27, around 4:30, 2 groups of 10-15 armed men in military uniform without insignia entered the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea and took control of it.[1] Immediately after the capture, the attackers were barricaded indoors, having previously removed the small number of staff located in the middle.[6] Crimean People's Deputy from the faction UDAR Serhiy Kunitsyn said that the building was captured by 120 highly trained personnel who have a large arsenal of weapons, including automatic weapons, machine guns and grenade launchers, which would allow them to defend themselves for a long time.[7] Persons who seized the building described themselves as representatives of the self-defense of Russian-speaking citizens of Crimea, although the Mejlis leader and deputy of the Crimean parliament, Refat Chubarov, said that Russian people were in charge of these people; later it became clear that the operation was orchestrated by Russian special forces.[8]
At 8:30, the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Crimea Anatolii Mohyliov made an appeal to the inhabitants of Crimea, in which he informed them about the capture of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC by unknown persons numbering about 50.[9] At 9 o'clock Anatolii Mohyliov announced talks, but they did not have any result, because, according to Mohyliov, the unknown people refused to speak.[10]
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the then head of the SBU, believes that there was no forceful capture of the ARC Verkhovna Rada, as the local Crimean authorities, including the police, voluntarily transferred control over the building and weapons.[11]
Materials
- Chronology of events that took place under the walls of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC on February 26, 2014, restored per minute // "The Crimean Prosecutor's Office", 02/26/2018
Link
- Occupation and resistance. Two years ago (photo gallery)
- Chubarov: "A year ago we were sure that the Crimea had been saved"
References
- ^ a b "Теракт. За фактом захоплення будівель Верховної Ради і Радміну Криму відкрито кримінальну справу". Корреспондент. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ ""Кримський фронт" і "казакі" блокують Верховну Раду Криму з вимогою незалежності АРК". Український тиждень. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ "Кримський спікер звинувачує "донецьких" у провокаціях в автономії". Український тиждень. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ "Кримський парламент так і не провів позачергове засідання". Український тиждень. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ Ігор Воробйов (25 February 2017). "Як у Криму засуджують противників приєднання до Росії". Німецька хвиля. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ Дмитро Каневський (27 February 2014). "Парламент і Рада міністрів Криму захоплені озброєними людьми". Німецька хвиля. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Будівлю Радміну й парламенту Криму захопили 120 професійно підготовлених осіб з озброєнням на місяць оборони - нардеп Куніцину". Інтерфакс Україна. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Михайло Глуховський (27 February 2014). "Рефат Чубаров: Людей, які захопили будівлю Верховної Ради Криму, контролює Москва". Главком. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ "У Криму люди зі зброєю захопили парламент і Раду міністрів". Українська правда. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Особи, які захопили адмінбудівлі Сімферополя, відмовляються проводити переговори, вони запросили до будівлі парламенту членів президії, щоб ті провели засідання - Могильов (розширена)". Інтерфакс Україна. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ ""Здачі Криму не було". Екс-глава СБУ пояснив, чому Україна не повернула контроль над АРК у лютому 2014-го". Новое Время. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.[ ]