Crimea, Ukrainian Krym, also spelled Krim, autonomous republic, southern Ukraine. The republic is coterminous with the Crimean Peninsula, lying between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. In 2014 Russia covertly invaded and illegally annexed Crimea, a move that was denounced by the international community. Area 10,400 square miles (27,000 square km). Pop. (2001) 2,033,736; (2013 est.) 1,965,177.
The peninsula is connected on the northwest to the mainland by the Perekop Isthmus, a 5-mile- (8-km-) wide strip of land that has been the site of numerous battles for the control of Crimea. Between Crimea and the mainland to the
In military terms, the crude, locally assembled drone dropping a country-made bomb or two on unguarded sites in Crimea are at best pin pricks in the big picture of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. But it can be profoundly.