Ever since Vladimir Putin rose to power in Russia, he has been on a mission to restore Russia’s might in all spheres, ranging from territorial authority over its neighbours (countries part of the erstwhile USSR) to the might of Russian military, defence production and economy in general. Regarded as oppressive in his political actions and dictatorial against his rivals in the country, he made a massive encroachment on the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014 and resultant accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. A step like this in today’s world would have raised massive opposition from across the globe but as it was Putin, nothing like that really happened.
So, Ukraine witnessed a political revolution of its own in 2014 which led to the downfall of the government and ousting of the then President of Ukraine. Utilising the opportunity, Putin decided to provide a safe passage to the ousted President who has been in an exile in Russia since. Soon, Putin sent Russian forces to Crimea who invaded strategic locations including the Crimean Parliament. The incumbent government was dissolved by Russia and a pro-Russian leader was installed in Crimea to finalise a deal of accession. As a result, Crimea declared itself independent and by way of a referendum, decided to join Russia. The referendum has been termed to be fixed. Since Ukraine was under immense pressure and was unable to withstand Russian forces, it gave in and withdrew its forces from Crimea after some resistance. Crimea was Russian territory as per Russian law now! Wow, that was quick from Putin.
Initial response from the international community was diplomatic in nature which included Russia’s suspension from G8 and some other international sanctions, but 6 years have passed since and it has become an accepted fact that Crimea is Russia’s territory. Essentially, nothing can be done about it. At the UNSC, Russia vetoed the Resolution against itself so no strict sanctions came into place. As of today, the UN considers Crimea to be Ukraine’s, but in effect, this seems to be only symbolic. On paper, it continues to be a disputed territory but in reality, Russia has full control over it with no local resistance that they cannot handle.
Image credits: PRI.org
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