Political status of Crimea

The status of Crimea is the subject of a political and territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia. While Russia occupied the territory in 2014 and claimed it had 'fully integrated' it by July 2015, and continues to administer it as two federal subjects of Russia, while Ukraine and the majority of international governments (except Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela) continue to regard Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine.

The dispute came into being after the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol against Ukrainian laws merged as a single united state under the name of Republic of Crimea and then, following a snap referendum on joining Russia (that official results showed backed the proposal), unilaterally declared their independence from Ukraine while the region was under military occupation by Russia itself. This state was then annexed by Russia, where it became a self-proclaimed federal district, whereas the Autonomous Republic became the "Republic of Crimea" as a Russian republic and Sevastopol became a Russian federal city. However, Ukraine and the majority of the international community do not consider the merge, the independence, the referendum, nor the annexation legitimate and still consider both entities as divisions of Ukraine. Despite international opinion however, the currency, tax and legal system are all operational under Russian jurisdiction. Ukraine has there applied for multiple litigations through international crime, water resources, the European Union and other courts.

In 1920, immediately after the RSFSR recognized the independence of the Ukrainian SSR (The "Workers' and Peasants Union Treaty between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic" signed 28 December 1920), the responsibility for all Crimean administration was reassigned directly to the Kremlin. In 1994 Russia signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, which states that it would "Respect Belarusian, Kazakh and Ukrainian independence and sovereignty and the existing borders". A detailed status of Crimea at that time was not described nor mentioned in the Budapest Memorandum, nor was a map of the existing borders of Ukraine included in the Memorandum.

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