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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Niva Yadav

Why does Russia want the Crimea? The fight for power in the Black Sea

Vladimir Putin appointed Dmitrii Ovsiannikov as the governor of Sevastopol in Crimea on July 28 2016 (PA) - (PA Archive)

The Crimean Peninsula, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea, has long been a fiercely disputed territory. Stuck in the middle of Ukraine and Russia, wedged between Putin and Zelensky, claims to the Crimea began centuries before the two presidents were alive.

But what makes this peninsula so valuable? Why would two countries risk a billion-dollar war over it? And why does each side believe it has a rightful claim?

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