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vehicle runs down the 19 km road-and-rail Crimean Bridge passing over the Kerch Strait
Image: Alexander Nemenov/AFPImage: Alexander Nemenov/AFP

Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula located on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Crimea became part of the newly independent Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but was illegally annexed by Russia in March 2014.

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All Content on this topic

Golden buckle in the shape of a knot against a black background

Treasures of Crimea: 'Scythian gold' on show in Kyiv

Ukraine fought for almost 10 years for the return of Crimean archaeological treasures. Now they're on display in Kyiv.
ArtsJuly 9, 20249 images
A picture showing a soldier in full army gear stading in a trench.

War in Ukraine: Oleg Sentsov's 'accidental' documentary

The Ukrainian director takes viewers inside the trenches of the war in Ukraine with his immersive documentary "Real."
FilmJune 27, 2024
This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of a destroyed SU 27 fighter aircraft from above

Ukraine hits Russian targets in occupied Crimea

New arms deliveries from the US are increasing Ukraine's ability to strike Russian targets at a greater distance.
ConflictsJune 12, 202402:49 min
Shelter in Sumy for people from occupied territories who cross Russian-Ukrainian border in Kolotilovka-Pokrovka

Border escape: Ukrainians flee Russian-occupied territories

Ukrainian civilians tell DW their stories of fleeing Russian-occupied territories via the only open border crossing.
ConflictsMay 5, 2024
View of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kremlin Tower

Russia demands extradition of Ukraine intelligence chief

Russia demanded that Ukraine hand over several people for their involvement in "terrorist attacks" on Russia soil.
ConflictsApril 1, 2024
Ismael Kurt Umer, a 33-year old Crimean Tatar exiled in Kyiv, wears a Ukrainian combat uniform during Ramadan prayers.

Crimean Tatars in exile fight for return to homeland

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, its Tatar population has been facing renewed persecution. DW's Max Zander reports.
ConflictsMarch 18, 202403:28 min
Russian soldiers line up during an opening ceremony of the memorial to Russian service members killed during Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Crimea

Crimea marks 10 years since Russian annexation

Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea is widely seen as the beginning of the Ukraine conflict still being fought today.
ConflictsMarch 18, 202403:24 min
A woman with bushy, reddish hair and wearing a patterned brown and white jacket, Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka, addresses a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels in December 2020

Latvia probes EU lawmaker for Kremlin spying

The investigation comes weeks after a report claimed to show communications between her and Kremlin handlers.
CrimeMarch 16, 2024
A group of four men wearing military fatigues, standing with weapons in a grassy field, looking at the camera

Crimea: 10 years on, fight to liberate peninsula continues

When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, many locals protested and were forced to flee. But some took up arms against Russia.
ConflictsMarch 16, 2024
Ukrainian infantrymen keep the watch in the trenches on the front line, as a dog walks nearby

Russia-Ukraine war: 10 years and still no end in sight

Though Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the conflict seemed remote. That all changed with the invasion in February 2022.
ConflictsFebruary 24, 2024
A picture of Putin in a Russian school book

Ukraine: Teachers fight for children's minds amid occupation

In Russian-occupied areas, Ukrainian teachers take risks to educate children outside the Moscow-approved curriculum.
ConflictsJanuary 9, 2024
In this Friday, April 4, 2014 file photo, a Scythian gold helmet from the fourth century B.C. is displayed as part of the exhibit called The Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea, at Allard Pierson historical museum in Amsterdam.

Disputed Crimea gold treasures returned to Ukraine

After years of dispute with Russia, the ancient gold objects have now been returned from the Netherlands to Ukraine.
CultureNovember 30, 2023
A submerged promenade in Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast

Winter storm pounds Black Sea region

A storm in the Black Sea region has caused severe damage. A state of emergency has been declared in many places.
CatastropheNovember 27, 20237 images
DW Sendung | To The Point | TTP Totale Eng

New US missiles and tanks: is Russia losing Crimea?

Russia under pressure following military strikes by Ukraine and American arms deliveries.
PoliticsSeptember 28, 202326:06 min
Smoke rises over the port of Sevastopol port after Ukrainian missile strikes on Wednesday

Ukraine war: Why controlling Crimea could be key to victory

Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian-annexed Crimea. Why are both sides so eager to control the peninsula?
ConflictsSeptember 15, 2023
Two people in a field visiting a village

Ukraine: Organizers of sham elections face prosecution

Ukrainians who collaborated with the Russian occupiers face up to 10 years in prison.
PoliticsSeptember 9, 2023
Ukraine Starlink Internet Terminals Installed - Odesa

Ukraine: Musk defends Starlink decision on Crimea strike

Musk says he refused a request to extend satellite internet to a naval port to enable a strike by Ukraine in 2022.
ConflictsSeptember 9, 2023
Two fighters sitting in a tank driving along a dusty country road

Ukraine's counteroffensive breakthrough: What does it mean?

For weeks, Ukraine's counteroffensive seemed to be faltering. Now, troops have broken through Russian defenses.
ConflictsSeptember 5, 2023
Rustem Umerov

Who is Ukraine's designated defense minister, Rustem Umerov?

Ukraine's designated defense minister Rustem Umerov has strong links to Crimea — and to Turkey.
PoliticsSeptember 4, 2023
DW Business (Sendungslogo Composite)

DW Business

China stops releasing youth unemployment figures - Chile banks on green energy transformation
BusinessAugust 16, 202312:30 min
A poster affixed to a wall showing a woman beating a crouched Russian soldier with flowers. The Cyrillic script reads 'I don't want flowers; I want my Ukraine." Yellow wattle flowers can be seen to the side of the poster.

How Ukrainian women are fighting Russian occupation

The "Angry Mavka" movement is proof Russian soldiers are not welcome in southern Ukraine.
PoliticsAugust 9, 2023
A Russian Navy amphibious landing ship moves near the Kerch Bridge, Crimea on July 17, 2023

Ukraine updates: Drone strikes Crimea munitions depot

The predawn attack in central Crimea sparked the closure of the Russian-built Kerch Bridge. DW has the latest.
ConflictsJuly 22, 2023
section of a road split and sloping to one side following an alleged attack on the Crimea Bridge

Russia blames Ukraine for deadly attack on Kerch Bridge

Russia has referred to an incident on the bridge linking Russia with Crimea as an "act of terrorism."
ConflictsJuly 17, 202301:18 min
A view shows the damaged Chongar bridge.

Ukraine updates: Ukraine 'damages' key Crimea bridge

Russia-appointed officials have said a Ukrainian missile attack has struck the Chonhar bridge. DW has the latest.
ConflictsJune 22, 2023
Smoke rises from buildings in this aerial view of Bakhmut

Ukraine updates: Moscow 'promised' Wagner more ammunition

The head of Wagner forces says Moscow has pledged to send more ammunition. Follow DW for the latest.
ConflictsMay 8, 2023
Smoke and flame rise from a burning fuel tank in Sevastopol, Crimea on April 29, 2023.

Crimea blast 'God's punishment,' Ukraine says

A Ukrainian military intelligence official said that over 10 tanks of oil products were destroyed in the blast.
ConflictsApril 29, 2023
A panoramic view of Simferopol, central Crimea, in winter

Ukraine updates: China envoy criticized over Crimea remarks

Beijing's ambassador to Paris said ex-Soviet states don't have "actual status" under international law. DW has more.
ConflictsApril 23, 2023
People with banners, most prominently in the photo with letters 'Support peace, Stop Weapons,' march in Munich

Ukraine updates: Easter rallies in Germany call for peace

Meanwhile, Kyiv has said it will resume electricity exports to Europe after a six-month halt. DW rounds up the latest.
ConflictsApril 8, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev in Crimea, March 18, 2023.

Ukraine updates: Putin visits Crimea on date of annexation

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise trip to the Ukrainian peninsula on the anniversary of its annexation.
ConflictsMarch 18, 2023
Kämpfer der Söldnergruppe Wagner in der Ukraine

Russian expert: Putin nuclear threats are serious

Dimitri Trenin, who served in Russian military intel, says the Kremlin sees the Ukraine war as an "existential" fight.
PoliticsFebruary 15, 202326:06 min
DW Conflict Zone host Tim Sebastian

Russian ex-officer: We’re in a proxy war with the US

Russian foreign policy expert Dmitri Trenin says the Kremlin sees the war in Ukraine as an "existential" fight.
ConflictsJanuary 19, 202325:11 min
Fiona Hill swearing in to testify before US Congress in November 2019

Fiona Hill on Conflict Zone

Former top US expert on Russia tells DW that Putin hasn't changed his Ukraine goals.
PoliticsJanuary 11, 202326:06 min
Israel Jerusalem Besuch Präsident Putin

Is it time for Russia's Jews to leave the country?

Moscow's former chief rabbi, Pinchas Goldschmidt, says a new Iron Curtain could descend on Russia.
PoliticsDecember 14, 202225:05 min
A demonstrator brandishes a paper reading "Olenivka" during a protest of friends and relatives of Azov battalion servicemen of Russian-controlled prison in Olenivka near Donetsk in August

Ukraine updates: Red Cross announces prisoners of war visits

Workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) met with Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war.
ConflictsDecember 8, 2022
Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu leave Red Square after the Victory Day parade

Why did Putin start this war?

Veteran Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev tells DW that Putin has created a situation from which he has no good exit.
PoliticsNovember 23, 202226:06 min
A Ukrainian servicewoman fires a large weapon, which spurts out flames

Ukraine battles for Kherson, gateway to Crimea

Russia says it is withdrawing from Kherson, the only regional capital it has captured since it invaded Ukraine.
ConflictsNovember 10, 2022
Illustration of Starlink network of satellites

Ukraine updates: US warns Russia over satellites threats

The US counter-threat came after a Russian official said Western commercial satellites could become legitimate targets.
ConflictsOctober 27, 2022
Cars are driving while in the background flames and smoke rises up

Crimea bridge blast — what's real, and what's fake?

A truck, a boat and an ID card — the search for clues after the Crimea bridge explosion is mired with fakes.
PoliticsOctober 14, 2022
The damanged Kerch Bridge

Ukraine updates: Arrests made in Crimea bridge blast

Russia's FSB security service blamed Ukrainian intelligence for organizing an attack on the bridge. DW has the latest.
ConflictsOctober 12, 2022
the launching of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at Plesetsk testing field, Russia in April 2022

How high is the risk of Putin using a nuclear weapon?

Moscow has threatened that the war in Ukraine could escalate. Is Putin ready to launch a nuclear weapon?
ConflictsOctober 12, 2022
Flaming wreckage and smoke in a city street

Biden promises advanced air defense systems — as it happened

US President Joe Biden promised to provide Ukraine with advanced air defense systems.
ConflictsOctober 10, 2022
Collapsed portion of the Kerch Bridge

Why is the Kerch Bridge important?

An explosion destroyed parts of a bridge that links Russia to Crimea, potentially hampering Moscow's war effort.
ConflictsOctober 8, 2022
A Russian military test launch of an Iskander-K rocket in February 2022

Ihor Zhovkva on Conflict Zone

A top Zelenskyy advisor says Putin's nuclear threats need to be taken seriously, but his call for talks isn't credible.
PoliticsOctober 5, 202226:06 min
President of Poland Andrzej Duda and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv

Zelenskyy vows that Ukraine will retake Crimea

At the Crimea Platform, Ukraine's president has said Kyiv will use any means it deems fit to recapture the peninsula.
PoliticsAugust 23, 2022
A view of a road-rail bridge across the Kerch Strait linking Crimea to Russia

Ukraine updates: Blasts heard in Crimea's Sevastopol, Kerch

Explosions have been heard at a base near Sevastopol, and near the eastern Crimean city of Kerch. Follow DW for more.
ConflictsAugust 18, 2022
Nuclear power plant near Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine

Ukraine updates: Kyiv runs nuclear drills near Zaporizhzhia

Antonio Guterres is due to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine. DW has the latest.
ConflictsAugust 17, 2022
Smoke rises above the munitions site

Ukraine updates: Moscow admits sabotage caused Crimea blast

Russia has admitted that the detonation of ammunition at a military depot in Crimea was due to sabotage.
ConflictsAugust 16, 2022
A ship in the Black Sea near Istanbul

Ukraine: No smooth sailing for grain via the Black Sea

While Ukraine struggles to resume its grain exports, the price of bread is rising around the world.
ConflictsAugust 13, 2022
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex reactors seen in March 2022

Fresh shelling at Ukraine nuclear plant

Ukraine has said Russian shells landed close to where radioactive material is stored. Follow DW for the latest.
ConflictsAugust 12, 2022
A Russian armored personnel carrier lands from a large landing ship during an exercise in amphibious landing on an unimproved

Can Ukraine take back Crimea?

Ukraine says it wants to push Russia out of all of its territory — including Crimea. Is this a realistic goal for Kyiv?
ConflictsAugust 10, 2022