Circle the area on this map
C. Shortly after a pro-Russian president was ousted from Ukraine in 2014, unmarked Russian forces and local militias seized control of the Crimean Peninsula from the Ukrainian government. Following a controversial referendum which officially showed showed majority support for joining Russia, the territory was annexed to Russia. The UN has refused to accept the annexation.
D. The Black Sea lies between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait where the Russian government has built a bridge to connect Crimea to Russia. Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet was based in Crimea even after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine in 1991.
D. Over the last few years, Russia and Russian individuals have been sanctioned over assassinations at home and abroad, interfering in the 2016 U.S. election and even for giving its Olympic athletes performance-enhancing drugs. The attack on Ukrainian ships renewed calls for international sanctions to pressure Russia over its behavior.
B. Kiev is Ukraine’s capital and largest city with a population of 2.8 million people. The Kievan Rus was founded by descendants of Viking traders who were eventually assimilated by the Slavs. It ruled from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, uniting the majority of East Slavic people and adopting Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Belarus, Russia and Ukraine all claim the Rus as their cultural ancestors.