ten years ago, Russia invaded and annexed this Ukrainian territory

On March 27, 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and annexed the territory within weeks. Today, this invasion is considered the prologue to the war in Ukraine starting in 2022.

Ten years ago, Russia sent its mercenaries to the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea. In a few weeks and almost without a shot fired, it annexed the territory in defiance of all international law. This is the first stage of a war which has not yet given its name but which has led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022. Occupied for ten years, Crimea finds itself at the heart of the current conflict.

In ten years of Russian occupation, it is an understatement to say that Crimea has changed, recognizes Refat Tchobarov. He chairs the representative assembly of Crimean Tatars, the first victims of repression since 2014. “The children there lived most of their youth under Russian propagandahe says. And Russia also brought a million of its citizens to Crimea. It will be a big problem for us to chase them away.”

Many Crimean residents help the Ukrainian army

At the same time, almost a quarter of Crimean Tatars were forced into exile elsewhere in Ukraine. For those who remain, Tatars or ethnic Ukrainians, the danger is permanent. Volodymyr Prytoula knows this well, he who runs an online media outlet from kyiv, several of whose journalists in Crimea have been arrested or imprisoned. “There are those who do not want to be mobilized by the Russians, those who fear repression and others who fear Ukrainian bombings. Everyone understands that Crimea is no longer the paradise it was until 2014,” he lists.

“Today it is above all a dangerous place.”

Volodymyr Prytoul, who runs an online media outlet based in kyiv

at franceinfo

In recent days, Ukraine has increased strikes on Russian positions in Crimea. Russia responds by launching ballistic missiles from the peninsula. Tamila Tacheva is the special representative of the Ukrainian presidency for Crimea. “Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, especially since our armed forces have been bombing Russian positions in Crimea, our people have begun to actively resist, she says. Many inform our army about the movements of enemy troops or equipment in Crimea. This helps Ukraine a lot.” 2022 was a turning point for Crimea. Ukraine understood that not only could it retake the territory, but it actually had no other choice. The longer this war lasts, the more it seems clear that it is there, in Crimea, that its outcome will be played out.