Little green men (2014 Crimean crisis)

Little green men (Russian: зелёные человечки, translit. zelyonye chelovechki, Ukrainian: зелені чоловічки, translit. zeleni cholovichki) refers to masked soldiers in unmarked green army uniforms and carrying modern Russian military weapons and equipment that appeared during the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. The term was first used during the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, when those soldiers occupied and blockaded the Simferopol International Airport, most military bases in Crimea, and the parliament in Simferopol. They were also known as Polite People (Russian: вежливые люди, translit. vezhlivye lyudi) as they were perceived to have behaved peacefully with little practical interference with the daily activities of the residents.

In March 2014, the Finnish magazine Suomen Sotilas (Soldier of Finland) published an analysis of the weapons and equipment seen on photos of "little green men".

The article points to a number of weapons and pieces of equipment that it asserts are issued only to armed forces in the Russian Federation:

The article goes on to conclude that with a very high probability "these troops are the 45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the VDV" based in Kubinka, Moscow.

Other media has published a photo of an unmarked Russian soldier armed with a VSS Vintorez taken as proof of deployment of Russian special forces.

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Wikipedia