Crimea annexation

• Global conflict


  When many countries in different parts of the world have a serious political disagreement which escalates into economic or military action
• The 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict is about a global conflict
• Crimean peninsula


  Located in Russia
• You cannot walk to Crimea from Russia or Ukraine
• Crimea is located at latitude 45°N and longitude 34°E
• Map of Russian speakers in Ukraine

  • Crimea has a high percentage of Russian speakers
• Crimean people voted to join Russia in 2014 referendum


  Because 77% of people in Crimea speak Russian, identify as Russians and wanted to be part of Russia
• Reasons why Crimea was important to Russia

  • Crimea and Ukraine were part of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union
  • Russia felt it lost Ukraine and Crimea and wanted it back
  • Taking back Crimea would boost Putin's political popularity in Russia
  • Crimea has valuable natural gas reserves
  • Russia's Black Sea navy fleet was based in Crimea
• The Russian Black Sea Fleet was based at Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula
• Russia annexed (joined) the Crimean Peninsula, taking it from the independent sovereign country of Ukraine in 2014
• Annexation


  Russia annexed Crimea
• Vladimir Putin is the Russian president and an ex-KGB agent turned master political chess player, seen as the political strong man of Russia
• Timeline of events in the 2014 Ukraine Crimea crisis

  1. Ukraine elected a pro-Western anti-Russian president

  2. Russia ordered military drills at its Black Sea base in Crimea

  3. Russian special forces seized airports and government buildings in Crimea

  4. Crimean people voted in a referendum to join Russia

  5. Russia formally annexed Crimea
• What Ukraine did to threaten Russia

  Ukraine elected a pro-Western anti-Russian president, which worried Russia as it risked losing control of its Black Sea naval base
• What Russia did to Ukraine in return


  Russia annexed Crimea
• What the US, EU and Ukraine did

  They condemned the Crimea referendum as illegal and an "election at gunpoint"
• What Russia did


  Russia signed a treaty formally annexing Crimea
• International condemnation of Russia

  • The US and EU ordered sanctions
  • The G8 expelled Russia
  • The UN condemned Russia's actions
  • NATO deployed troops to Eastern Europe to deter future Russian aggression
• Political actions taken by the UK with international organisations to pressurise Russia

  • The EU sent a diplomatic condemnation of Russia's actions
  • The EU placed a travel ban on 164 Russians and froze financial assets of 13 Russian organisations
  • The G7 permanently suspended Russia from the G8
  • The EU placed economic sanctions against Russia
• How Russia responded to the international condemnation and sanctions

  • Russia has not changed its intentions and continues to annex Crimea
  • Russia built a bridge connecting Russia to Crimea to strengthen its claim
• The UK did not act alone but added its voice to the EU and G7 to exert political and economic pressure on Russia