Crimea

Why in the News?

• On 18 August 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met U.S. President Donald Trump seeking ways to end Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine (since 2022).
• Zelenskyy stressed that peace must be “lasting,” unlike the situation after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

About Crimea

• Location: Peninsula bordered by the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
• Strategic Importance: Fertile land + strategic warm-water ports (Sevastopol naval base).
• History:
  • Known as Tauris/Taurida in ancient Greek times.
  • Later under Romans, Genoese traders, briefly Kievan Rus.
  • Part of the Russian Empire (1783 onwards), then Soviet Union.
  • Transferred to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev.
  • Remained part of independent Ukraine (1991–2014).
• 2014 Annexation:
  • Russia annexed Crimea under President Vladimir Putin after a disputed referendum.
  • Widely condemned; UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 (2014) affirmed Crimea as part of Ukraine.
• Present: Still contested → central to the Russia–Ukraine war.

(Source: IE)