Ukraine, Russia covet Crimean Peninsula
TALLINN, Estonia — Its balmy beaches have been vacation spots for Russian czars and Soviet general secretaries. It has hosted history-shaking meetings of world leaders and boasts a strategic naval base. And it has been the site of ethnic persecutions, forced deportations and political repression.
Now, as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its 18th month, the Crimean Peninsula is again both a playground and a battleground, with drone attacks and bombs seeking to dislodge Moscow’s hold on the territory and bring it back under Kyiv’s authority, no matter how loudly the Kremlin proclaims its ownership.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to retake the diamondshaped peninsula that Russia’s Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in 2014.
For both presidents, backing off Crimea is hardly an option.
Moscow deployed troops and weapons there, allowing Russian forces to quickly seize large parts of southern Ukraine when the war began in 2022. Kyiv says the militarization of Crimea threatens all countries in the Black Sea region.
Putin’s annexation in 2014 was quick and bloodless. While Ukraine was still grappling with the aftermath of the uprising that forced proMoscow President Victor Yanukovich from office, men in military uniforms without insignia took control of Crimea.
They helped orchestrate a referendum on the peninsula, and proKremlin authorities said the results showed an almost unanimous desire of its residents to become part of Russia.
Putin’s popularity soared. His approval ratings, which had been declining, soared from 65% in January of that year to 86% in June, according to the Levada Center, an independent Russian pollster.
“Krym nash!” — or “Crimea is ours!” — became a rallying cry in Russia. But only a handful of countries, such as North Korea and Sudan, recognized the move.
Putin has called Crimea “a sacred place,” and has prosecuted those who publicly argue it is part of Ukraine. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that “Russia won’t be able to steal” the peninsula.
Crimea’s unique position in the Black Sea makes it a strategically important asset for whoever controls it, and Russia has spent centuries fighting for it.