Original title: Rusya’nın Tezleri-Batı’nın Antitezleri: Kırım ve Uluslararası Hukuk
On February 27, the parliament and prime minister’s office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea were occupied by armed men in military uniforms, and the airport in the capital city of Simferopol was occupied the following day. Roads and bridges connecting Crimea to Ukraine were closed, the peninsula’s communication lines to Ukraine were cut, telephone transmitters were silenced and internet connection was cut off. Initially, the news reported that these people were private security forces or mercenaries. Later, Putin requested authorization from the Russian Parliament to use military force in Ukraine on the grounds that “the lives of Russian citizens and Russian military personnel in the southern Crimea region were under threat.” However, it was soon understood that the soldiers were actually affiliated with Russia’s forces in the Black Sea.
The events were first discussed in the context of international law around the question of “is a new type of military occupation taking place?” Because for the first time, people in military uniforms, who did not bear any distinguishing elements such as signs, ranks or license plates, occupied critical points of the Crimean peninsula and sealed off and blockaded the region. When it was later revealed that these soldiers were affiliated with Russia, a new debate began on the fact that such an operation was carried out without any notification and on the legal basis and justification of the intervention. This point perhaps constitutes the backbone of the debates. Because both Russia and the West are trying to base the same arguments on different realities.
- Published in
- Policy Analysis
- Date
- 7 March 2014
- Language
- Turkish