--- description: Russia confronts Ukraine in the Crimean Peninsula, pitting President Vladimir Putin against an uncertain interim leadership in Kiev. title: Watch How the Crisis Has Unfolded in Ukraine image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaea40184efa1ed5/698684ba13c79f1ade190f1c/koy201403040067-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Timeline of the Crisis in Crimea by [Corey Protin](/author/corey-protin/) ## Corey Protin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2014 12:20 PM CUT  Unnarmed Ukrainian soldiers approach Russian positions on the perimeter of the contested Belbek airfield in Crimea to press demands to return to their positions there and conduct joint patrols,March ,4 2014. Unnarmed Ukrainian soldiers approach Russian positions on the perimeter of the contested Belbek airfield in Crimea to press demands to return to their positions there and conduct joint patrols,March ,4 2014.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME by [Corey Protin](/author/corey-protin/) ## Corey Protin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2014 12:20 PM CUT Russia and Ukraine share a long and interconnected history, shaped by a common Slavic culture and the ambitions of Moscow’s imperial rulers. The current crisis in Crimea is rooted in that history, but represent the latest escalation in a series of changes that began with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. As the situation continues to unfold over the coming days and weeks, Russians and Ukrainians will confront hard choices about how far to go in challenging one another and how much suffering each nation can endure. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/16708/watch-timeline-of-the-crisis-in-crimea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/16708/watch-timeline-of-the-crisis-in-crimea/"},"headline":"A Timeline of the Crisis in Crimea","datePublished":"2014-03-08T12:20:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:39:40.137Z","description":"Russia confronts Ukraine in the Crimean Peninsula, pitting President Vladimir Putin against an uncertain interim leadership in Kiev.","url":"https://time.com/16708/watch-timeline-of-the-crisis-in-crimea/","keywords":["Ukraine","russia","violence","Kiev","Viktor Yanukovych","moscow","Crimea","President Vladimir Putin","ukraine crisis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaea40184efa1ed5/698684ba13c79f1ade190f1c/koy201403040067-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Corey Protin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/corey-protin/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaea40184efa1ed5/698684ba13c79f1ade190f1c/koy201403040067-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Unnarmed Ukrainian soldiers approach Russian positions on the perimeter of the contested Belbek airfield in Crimea to press demands to return to their positions there and conduct joint patrols,March ,4 2014.","caption":"Unnarmed Ukrainian soldiers approach Russian positions on the perimeter of the contested Belbek airfield in Crimea to press demands to return to their positions there and conduct joint patrols,March ,4 2014.","creditText":"Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/16708/watch-timeline-of-the-crisis-in-crimea/","name":"A Timeline of the Crisis in Crimea"}}]}] ```