The strategic peninsula of Crimea is crucial in US-led efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has long been coveted by Moscow, who want Ukraine to officially surrender the territory as part of a peace deal.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected this on multiple occasions, saying that formally surrendering the land has always been a red line, and goes against Kyiv’s constitution.
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But he faces increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who told reporters he thinks the Ukrainian leader is ready to give up the peninsula.
It comes after Mr Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of prolonging the “killing field” after he pushed back on a proposed deal.
So why is Crimea so important to both sides and what role does it play in the war?
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Russian annexation
In 2013-14, a popular uprising gripped Ukraine for several weeks, eventually forcing pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych from office.
While Ukraine was in turmoil, Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to send troops to overrun Crimea, a diamond-shaped peninsula in the Black Sea.
Those troops arrived in Crimea in uniforms without insignia, and Mr Putin soon called a vote on joining Russia that Ukraine and the West dismissed as illegal.
Moscow’s illegal annexation on 18 March 2014 was only recognised internationally by a few countries, including North Korea and Sudan.
In Russia, it sparked a wave of patriotism, and “Krym nash” – meaning “Crimea is ours” – became a rallying cry.
Mr Putin has called Crimea “a sacred place” and has prosecuted people who publicly argue it is part of Ukraine.
Why is it important?
Russia has spent centuries fighting for Crimea.
It was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, when both were part of the USSR.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the peninsula became part of an independent Ukraine.
By the time Russia seized it, Crimea had been a part of Ukraine for 60 years and had become part of the country’s identity.
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Mr Zelenskyy has vowed Russia “won’t be able to steal” the peninsula.
For both sides, Crimea is key to controlling activities in the Black Sea, which is a critical corridor for the world’s grain and other goods.
What role does Crimea play in the war?
Ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Moscow deployed troops and weapons to Crimea, allowing its forces to quickly seize large parts of southern Ukraine in the first weeks of the war.
The peninsula soon became a battleground, with Ukraine launching drone attacks and bombing it to try to dislodge Moscow’s hold on the territory.
The attacks targeted the Russian Black Sea Fleet, as well as ammunition depots, air fields and Mr Putin’s prized asset, the Kerch Bridge – which links Crimea to Russia – which was struck in October 2022 and again in July 2023.
According to recent polling, the Ukrainian public largely acknowledges land must be ceded as part of any deal that ends the war, because there is no way to retake it militarily.
But some in Ukraine think giving up land would only be temporary. Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender of Crimea would make it nearly impossible for Ukraine to regain the peninsula again in the future.
It is unclear if Mr Trump’s peace deal would include the US formally recognising Crimea as Russian, but in an interview with Time magazine on Friday, the US leader said “Crimea will stay with Russia”.
He added: “Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.”
What do the people who live there think?
Before the war, around two million people lived in Crimea. An estimated 12% of those were Tatars, Turkish-speaking indigenous people.
Large groups of Tartars were deported from Crimea by Soviet leader Josef Stalin at the end of the Second World War for alleged collaboration with the Nazis.
The indigenous group also strongly opposed Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula, and since then, many have become political prisoners, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, some Crimean Tatars have joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces, serving in the Crimea Battalion – a volunteer unit that consists mostly of Crimean Tatars and was formed after Russia’s invasion back in 2014.
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However, a large part of the demographic currently living in Crimea is Russian.
Since 2014, up to 800,000 Russians have moved to the peninsula, and around 100,000 Ukrainians have left, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union reported in 2023.
Mr Zelenskyy’s permanent representative for Crimea also said in 2023 that between 500,000 to 800,000 Russians had relocated since its annexation.
