Conflict coverage · Eastern Europe

Annexation of Crimea; war begins in Donbas

Feb – Mar 2014Key eventEssentialCrimea

Territorial changeMilitaryPoliticalThe eastern front

Russia seizes and annexes Crimea in a near-bloodless operation, then ignites a proxy war in Donetsk and Luhansk that kills ~14,000 over eight years.

Why it mattersThe first forcible annexation in Europe since 1945 — and the template Moscow believed would work again at scale in 2022.

Confidence: HighSources: Established historical recordMethodology Corrections

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Where this fits

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