For over a decade, successive U.S. administrations, including Trump’s first, decried Russia’s armed seizure of Crimea in 2014 and said they would never recognize the land grab

Moscow has said it will not entertain negotiations over its territory in talks with the US and Ukraine. For Putin and his government, Crimea is Russian. It is an important strategic hub, hosting both naval and submarine bases crucial for the country’s presence in the Black Sea.

Russia’s illegal seizure of Crimea from Ukraine 11 years ago was quick and bloodless. But Kyiv and most of the world never recognized Moscow’s annexation of the strategic peninsula.