Putin Reveals Plans for Crimea Annexation Before Referendum

Reports indicate that Vladimir Putin stated he had instructed officials to take control of Crimea weeks before the referendum on its annexation to Russia. According to a report on March 9 by Reuters, the television network 'Russia One' aired part of a conversation with the Russian president, in which he mentioned that in February of the previous year, just hours before the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, he had requested an emergency meeting. Viktor Yanukovych, a Kremlin ally, fled to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine after opposition forces stormed the government. Vladimir Putin told military commanders and defense officials, 'He (Yanukovych) may be eliminated... We must be prepared to extract him by air, land, or sea.' The report indicates that Putin's remarks were related to a meeting held on February 22-23 of last year, which concluded around 7 PM. In this meeting, Putin told his colleagues, 'We must initiate the process of returning Crimea to Russia.' These statements contradict the official position of the Russian government and the Kremlin, which previously stated that the annexation plan was executed after the March 16 referendum and the majority of Crimea's residents voted to join Russia. The bloodless annexation of Crimea was accompanied by a flare-up of pro-Russian separatist actions in eastern Ukraine. Crimea is a peninsula in the Black Sea, predominantly inhabited by ethnic Russians. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has resulted in nearly six thousand deaths, and fighting in the region has subsided following the Minsk ceasefire agreement. The European Union and the United States have labeled the annexation of Crimea as 'illegal' and imposed sanctions on Moscow. According to Reuters, Vladimir Putin has changed his stance regarding Crimea. He previously stated that Russian military forces did not go to the region to 'ensure security during the Crimean referendum.' He later confirmed that Russian special forces had been deployed to the area. The newspaper 'Novaya Gazeta,' which opposes Vladimir Putin, published details of a report last month regarding Putin's intentions for the annexation of Crimea. The Kremlin dismissed this report as 'nonsense.'