Why is Crimea so important to both Russia and Ukraine?

The Russian naval headquarters in Sevastopol is one of Moscow’s most important bases.

Russian-occupied Crimea has come under increasing attack from Ukraine.

The territory annexed by Moscow nine years ago is now an active battlefront in the war between the two neighbours.

How are Ukraine's attacks on Crimea playing in Russia?

The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol says the Crimean Peninsula has been the target of fresh missile strikes. He reported air defense systems have intercepted rockets. A day earlier, Ukraine's military struck the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

What happened on the Crimea bridge? And why does it matter?

 

Russia has blamed Ukraine for attacking a bridge which links occupied Crimea to Russia

The attack happened early on Monday morning - two Russians going on a family holiday were killed, according to a local governor.

The BBC's analysis editor Ros Atkins answers key questions about what happened to the bridge.

Crimea bridge: Video shows moment of huge explosion

 

The road section of the only crossing from occupied Crimea has collapsed after an explosion.

Widely shared images show a train on the Kerch rail bridge ablaze, with the adjacent road bridge appearing to have sustained damage.

Russian investigators have reported three deaths.

The bridge, built on the orders of Vladimir Putin, is a key link to move military equipment into Ukraine. Moscow had illegally annexed the region four years earlier.

Ukraine war: Russia blames 'sabotage' for new Crimea explosions - BBC News

 

A week after an apparent Ukrainian attack on a Russian military base in occupied Crimea, an arms store on another depot has been hit by a series of explosions. Russian officials said a fire triggered the blasts in the Dzhankoi area - before later blaming "sabotage".

Russia's big patriotic screen: Making films for the motherland

Russia's cinematic efforts to produce patriotic films and documentaries.

Hitting cinema screens in Russia this month was a new light-hearted romcom - a story of love and construction along the Kerch Strait, the body of water that separates Russia from Crimea.

The film is called The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!, and the fact that Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 makes the protagonist's exclamation, "welcome to the Krimski Bridge, the biggest bridge in Russia!" somewhat controversial, as the majority of world leaders do not recognise Crimea as Russian.

It was not particularly popular with Russian audiences, however, the Russian political establishment took great interest.

Russia's big patriotic screen: Making films for the motherland

Russia's cinematic efforts to produce patriotic films and documentaries.

Hitting cinema screens in Russia this month was a new light-hearted romcom - a story of love and construction along the Kerch Strait, the body of water that separates Russia from Crimea.

The film is called The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!, and the fact that Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 makes the protagonist's exclamation, "welcome to the Krimski Bridge, the biggest bridge in Russia!" somewhat controversial, as the majority of world leaders do not recognise Crimea as Russian.

Why Ukraine is trapped in endless conflict

The present conflict in Ukraine started in 2014. Today, there are 100,000 fighters stationed in the country, making it one of the most heavily militarized regions in the world. In Ukraine's east, Ukrainian forces are engaged in a struggle with Russian-backed separatists. A ceasefire was called in 2015, with a security zone established that was meant to foster peace. However, today the security zone remains one of the most violent places in the Ukraine. With over 10,000 deaths to date, and over 1.5 million civilians displaced, the cost of ignoring the ceasefire continues to mount by the day. And both sides are still building up their forces.

SIx Other Countries Putin Might Have His Eye On

There several other countries of the former Soviet Union large Russian speaking populations which like Crimea Vladimir Putin use the threat of harm against those people as a reason to annex them into Russia.

 

Eastern Ukraine

The most immediate, alarming question is whether Putin has sights on pushing into the tinderbox of eastern Ukraine — heavy with the ethnic Russians he claims to be protecting and industrially vital to the Ukrainian economy.

Russia has said that it has no designs on the Ukrainian mainland. But it has put 20,000 troops, heavy armor and aircraft on the Ukrainian border, raising serious concerns at the Pentagon, U.S. officials said Thursday. One Pentagon official told NBC News: “It’s like they’re on a hair trigger.”

Moldova and Kazakhstan

Russia experts say these are the next two countries to watch. Neither is part of NATO, which guarantees that it will defend against an attack on any of its member states.

Moldova, a sliver of 3.6 million people between Ukraine and Romania, has a rebellious region of Russian speakers called Transnistria that considers itself independent but is not recognized by the rest of the world.

Russia already has a small contingent of so-called peacekeepers there, looking after old Soviet weaponry. The president of Moldova warned Russia this week not to try anything.

“The Moldovan government has tremendous concern right now about what the situation in Ukraine is going to mean for them,” said James Goldgeier, dean of the School of International Service and American University.

Kazakhstan, which sits between Russia and China, has a large percentage of ethnic Russians — roughly a quarter.

The president there, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is a strong advocate of Kazakh sovereignty but has “played both sides of it,” Pomeranz said. Last week he told Putin over the phone that he understood Putin’s logic in Ukraine.

As Kazakhstan has strengthened its national identity in the two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, some ethnic Russians have come to feel that their status and their role in the country’s affairs have been diminished.

The Baltics

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all members of NATO, and are sufficiently anxious about Russia that Vice President Joe Biden made a trip to Lithuania this week to reassure leaders there. The defense minister of France is headed to the region on Friday to talk about ways to boost their security.

Russia made waves on Wednesday when an official expressed concern for the large minority of ethnic Russians in Estonia, the same justification it gave for invading Crimea.

Biden told the president of Estonia that the U.S. may conduct military training exercises in the region. The United States has already added fighter jets to patrol the skies over the Baltics.

Putin has made clear, and signaled again in a defiant speech on Tuesday, that he is deeply irritated by NATO’s expansion to the east. By menacing the Baltic states, he may think he can sow doubt about “whether their membership is worth what they think it is,” Goldgeier said.