Above: Russian soldiers without insignia, Putin denied the invasion of Crimea as long as he could
The truth about Crimea that doesn’t make the news
(Taken from the article by Jane Lytvynenko – The Wall Street Journal, 28.04.25)
The invasion of Crimea in 2014 was not an isolated event, but ‘the first step towards a full-scale invasion’ of #Ukraine. As Olha Skrypnyk, a direct witness in Yalta, recalls, “the occupation of Crimea was only the beginning. #Russia would not stop.”
“Crimea had been transferred under Ukrainian control in 1954, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev signed a decree recognising the economic, territorial and cultural ties between Crimea and Ukraine. In the 1991 independence referendum, more than half of Crimeans voted to remain with Ukraine.”
In 2014, armed men without insignia took control of the peninsula, hoisted the Russian flag and organised a fake referendum, where “95.5% of voters” would choose annexation.
Many opponents were arrested, beaten and subjected to violence: “They were tortured, degraded, beaten, forced to sing the Russian anthem with extinguished cigarettes on their bodies,” says Skrypnyk, now head of the Crimean Human Rights Centre.
In the years that followed, “successive American administrations – including Trump’s – condemned the occupation of Crimea without succeeding in changing its fate.”
Today, Trump has changed his position, stating that ‘the peninsula should become part of Russia’.
“Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine will never give up Crimea, attaching to a 2018 official statement (also signed by Mike Pompeo, then US Secretary of State) the principle that “no country can change the borders of another by force”.
Crimea is not just a closed chapter: it is an example of what happens when truth is ignored and freedom is trampled upon.
đź“– Read: ‘Land Grab in Crimea Was Russia’s Trial Run’ by Jane Lytvynenko – The Wall Street Journal 28 April 2025
It is interesting that a conservative publication like The Wall Street Journal reports a reality ignored by the majority of the Italian media.
The truth about Crimea you won’t hear on Italian TV
Source: Jane Lytvynenko, The Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2025
In 2014, Crimea wasn’t an isolated event: “it was just the first step towards full-scale invasion.”
A fake referendum, “under the supervision of armed men,” and torture against those who resisted.
#Zelensky reaffirmed that #Ukraine will never give up Crimea, referring to an official 2018 statement (also signed by Mike Pompeo, then U.S. Secretary of State) affirming the principle that “no country can change another country’s borders by force.”
Crimea teaches us: ignoring the truth means trampling on freedom.
