In February 2014, men dressed in camouflage, driving armored trucks and carrying military-issue weapons emerged from the Russian military base in Sevastopol and began streaming across the Ukrainian province of Crimea. Within hours, they had occupied town halls and television stations. Within days, they had co-opted local thugs and criminals to create a provisional government. They held a tightly controlled referendum and announced that residents of the region wanted it to belong to Russia.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Anne Applebaum: Why does Putin want control Ukraine? Ask Stalin
Russian communist party supporters wave flags and hold portraits of late Soviet leader Joseph Stalin during a memorial ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of his death at Moscow's Red Square on March 5, 2016.
