For putin, Crimea became the basis on which the entire modern russian regime is built, namely, the occupation and annexation of Crimea made it possible to «return» putin’s rating. But what did he promise before the annexation?
🔸 A promise. In 2006, putin said: «Crimea is part of the Ukrainian state, and we cannot interfere in the internal affairs of another country». In 2008 – «Crimea isn’t a disputed territory, there was no ethnic conflict there, unlike South Ossetia and Georgia. Russia long ago recognized the borders of the current Ukraine. The issue of the return of Crimea and Sevastopol has a provocative meaning». «It isn’t discussed», he said on March 4, 2014 at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo. 14 days later, he went on a stage in Red Square and «welcomed the return of Crimea to its native shores».
🔻 Actually. In February 2014, russia occupied Crimea. In the same year, a so-called referendum on the accession of Crimea to russia was held on the peninsula, filled with soldiers without identification marks, popularly called «little green men».
In March 2014, Crimea and Sevastopol, which were previously part of Ukraine, «joined» the russian federation after the pseudo-referendum held on March 16 on the peninsula with the support of russian troops. During the direct line in 2014, putin stated «russia couldn’t have done otherwise in Crimea». Putin denied that russia had anything to do with armed men in military uniform on the streets of Crimea. These are «local self-defense forces», and «military uniforms can be bought in any store», he said during a press conference in March. Later, during the annual direct line on April 17, putin admitted that he had lied and that without the participation of russian soldiers «it was impossible to hold a referendum». When putin was asked about russian military personnel in Crimea, he answered: «Our task was to provide conditions for the free expression of the will of Crimeans. Therefore, of course, our servicemen stood behind the self-defense forces of Crimea».
It is clear that putin pursued purely personal goals with the idea of annexing Crimea. He presents the «return of «historical» lands to their true historical homeland» as a victory to appease domestic audiences and check Western reaction. It is not surprising that all parties of the State Duma voted for the annexation of Crimea. Even those opposed to putin’s rule, such as Navalny, refrained from calling for the peninsula to be returned to Ukraine.
In the West, a certain confusion was observed after the annexation of Crimea. Although no Western government (except such autocracies as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela) recognized russia’s claims to this region and imposed sanctions, Germany and other countries in 2014 didn’t break economic and diplomatic relations with the russian federation, and the desire to support the efforts of Ukraine turning the peninsula was also not observed. The indecisiveness and lackluster reaction of the West has prompted putin to annex other annexed territories and try to legalize this through pseudo-referendums. Crimea also became one of the springboards for the start of a full-scale war on February 24.
However, after the forceful «joining» of four regions of Ukraine, putin finally destroyed the illusion of Crimea’s uniqueness in the eyes of the West. Putin’s attitude to this region doesn’t differ from his annexations of the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which every Western country still considers Ukrainian land. Putin’s thesis that Ukraine recognizes Crimea as russian in exchange for peace in Donbas no longer works. European leaders recognize the mistakes of their attitude to the Crimean events and are ready to support the struggle for the liberation of Crimea in every possible way. In particular, at the Bundeswehr conference in Berlin in September 2022. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would have reacted more harshly to russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. «I want to say very clearly that it would have been correct, at least in retrospect, to react more harshly to the annexation of Crimea», the chancellor said. According to him, if the world’s reaction was tougher, the idea of trying to attack Ukraine again «might not have stuck so firmly in putin’s head».
❗️ The subject of the return of Crimea is again on the agenda. The determination of Ukraine, with the support of the West, to liberate the territory of Crimea and other territories annexed by the russian federation was confirmed in the decree of the President of Ukraine on the invalidity of putin’s decisions regarding the annexation of Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. And soon the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian political nation will return all temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
And then it will be…
