On March 14, 2014, following the ouster of Ukraine’s Russia-friendly president amid protests in Kyiv, Moscow annexed Crimea after the Kremlin sent in troops wearing uniforms without insignia.
A quick referendum was staged on the peninsula, splitting it from Ukraine.
Putin admitted a year later that he planned the annexation weeks ahead of time.
In this image, Prime Minister of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov (left), mayor of Sevastopol Aleksei Chaliy (right) and Vladimir Konstantinov (second left) in a signing ceremony of the treaty of annexation of Crimea and formation of new federal districts in Moscow.
