Circle the area on this map
B. In February 2014, masked Russian troops without insignia captured the parliament and military installations in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Russia formally annexed the territory a month later. The annexation is not internationally recognized.
A. The Russian Empire first annexed Crimea in 1783 after taking it from the Ottoman Empire. That gave the Russians a “warm water” port on the Black Sea which was not blocked by ice in winter. After the fall of the Russian Empire in 2017, the peninsula became part of the Soviet Union, and then part of the Ukraine when it gained independence in 1991.
C. With more 2.8 million people, Kiev is Ukraine’s largest city as well as its capital. It also was site of the medieval Kievan Rus state which united the majority of East Slavic people and adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Belarus, Russia and Ukraine all claim the Rus as their cultural ancestors.
D. The United States and European Union imposed a series economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia over the annexation of Crimea. But over the last few years, Russia and Russian individuals have been sanctioned over assassinations at home and abroad, interfering in U.S. elections and even for giving its Olympic athletes performance-enhancing drugs.