Day of Resistance to Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol in Ukraine Date in the current year: February 26, 2024

The Crimean Peninsula is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea. It was conquered by the Russian Empire in 1783. After the creation of the Soviet Union, Crimea originally became part of the Russia Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, but in 1954, it was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the peninsula became part of independent Ukraine as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

In 2014, Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation. While Ukraine and many other countries consider it the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, the Russian Federation insists that joining the Russian Federation was the decision of the majority of Crimean residents. The vast majority of the international community either stands with Ukraine or remains neutral.

The annexation of Crimea was preceded by the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, also known as the Euromaidan Revolution. After several months of protests, President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and fled to Russia in February 2014. According to Ukrainian sources, the annexation of Crimea began on February 20, 2014, when Yanykovych was still president, but the main events began to unfold on February 23, when pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. The next day, head of the Sevastopol City State Administration Volodymyr Yatsuba resigned from his post.

On February 26, Russian troops entered Crimea – officially, to maintain order on the peninsula due to the unstable and tense political situation caused by the Euromaidan Revolution and the change of power in Ukraine. That day, two protests took place in front of the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) of Crimea in Simferopol; one pro-Russian and the other pro-Ukrainian. Clashes between the two groups of protesters resulted in 30 people being injured.

On February 27, the buildings of the Verkhovna Rada and the Council of Ministers of Crimea were seized by Russian special forces, who raised Russian flags over the buildings. The next day, Russian troops seized the Simferopol International Airport and a number of administrative buildings, including the office of the state telecommunications company Ukrtelecom.

On March 16, the Crimean parliament and the local government of Sevastopol held the Crimean status referendum. According to the official result, 97% of voters chose to join the Russian Federation. Most countries regarded the referendum illegitimate, but Russia used its results to annex Crimea. President Vladimir Putin signed the treaty on Crimea’s annexation on March 18, and the Federation Council ratified it on May 21.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky established the Day of Resistance to Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol in order to emphasize the courage and heroism of all Crimeans who participated in the protest against Russian annexation that took place on February 26, 2014. During his speech at the Age of Crimea forum, he stressed that the return of Crimea is part of the Ukrainian national idea, as well as a guarantee of restoring faith in justice and international law.