WHY RUSSIA WILL NOT RETURN CRIMEA
In 2014, Russia seized the Crimean peninsula and destabilized Ukraine’s Eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. In the Western world, scholars often interrogate themselves over the possibility to see Crimea returned to Ukraine. Many of them believe that Crimea might not be necessarily lost forever; however, several considerations suggest that the contrary is true. Instead, the case is different for the two provinces in Eastern Ukraine. To begin with, Russia is installing new missile-defense systems in the peninsula. Back in the spring of 2017, Moscow deployed a division armed with S-400 “Triumph” missile-defense systems near Feodosia, in Crimea. This system is capable of hitting aircrafts and ICBMs flying within a range of 400 km and 60 km respectively. Recently, after the decision of the Trump administration to provide Ukraine with American weapons, Russia responded installing another division of S-400s near the city of Sevastopol. Tellingly, these devices can be turned int...