Crimea is part of Ukraine, but Russia claims the Black Sea Peninsula as its own. The tweet from a Russian embassy is all the more surprising.
The Russian embassy in Sweden labeled Crimea as Ukrainian territory in a Twitter post. That caused ridicule: “Looks like someone screwed it up,” said one comment. “Thank you for admitting that Crimea is part of Ukraine,” wrote another user.
The diplomatic account had shared a map of gas prices in Europe. Depending on the amount of the price, the countries are marked in different colors. Ukraine is colored yellow, as is Crimea.
But why is the post causing a stir? Russia actually regards the peninsula in the Black Sea as its national territory. Internationally, however, Crimea is still considered Ukrainian territory. The information on the map is therefore correct – but from a Russian point of view it is a fatal error. The Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, annexed by Russia in October 2022, also belong to Ukraine on the posted map.
What happened?
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin legitimized the alleged possession of Crimea in a referendum hastily called in March 2014. At that time, a large majority of voters on the peninsula are said to have voted for the union with Russia.
The West, on the other hand, speaks of an annexation – i.e. a violent appropriation that violates international law. Just five days after the referendum, Putin officially sealed Crimea’s admission into the Russian Federation.
Shortly before, in February 2014, Russian soldiers without national insignia had gradually occupied Crimea’s parliament and strategic buildings. They were supported by armed pro-Russian forces, some arriving from Russia, blocking routes to the Ukrainian heartland. As a result, the newly installed leadership of a pro-Russian minority party asked Russia for help, did not recognize the government in Kyiv – and called the referendum.
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Moscow justifies its claim with history
Moscow also justifies its claim to Crimea with history. It was only in 1954 that the Soviet party leader, Nikita Khrushchev, made the peninsula, inhabited mostly by Russians, part of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine voted for independence in 1991 – as did a majority in Crimea. Even after that, Moscow’s largest city, Sevastopol, consistently had the home port of the Russian Black Sea fleet. That was contractually regulated with Kyiv.
Today, the infrastructure of the peninsula is separated from the rest of Ukraine, and the land connection to the Ukrainian mainland is blocked. Foreigners traveling to Crimea from Russia are subject to a multi-year entry ban from Kyiv.
During negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in the spring of last year, at the beginning of the war, it was possible to postpone the question of Crimea’s membership for a few years. Strengthened by their military successes, however, the Kiev leadership is now pursuing the goal of recapturing all detached areas of Ukraine. There have been several attacks on the island.
