In a rare dispatch from the north, state-owned Crimea Vesti TV last weekend showed dozens of women and children sitting on the lawn of the municipal building in Krasnoperekopsk, tethered to phones. Crimea, 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. Ukraine ‘cuts off’ Crimea from Russia, plunging it into an energy crisis Ukraine is ramping up short-, medium- and long-range drone production to bring Russia’s war to a standstill. Crimea is home to one of Russia’s most pervasive and repressive security apparatuses that has left many people fearful of speaking openly. Public expressions of dissent are rare. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Crimea was formed in 1992, although the republic was abolished in 1995, with the Autonomous Republic of Crimea established firmly under Ukrainian authority and Sevastopol being administered as a city with special status. Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. Perspective: Crimea was Putin’s trophy. Ukraine is turning it into a test of command, supply lines and political nerve. Stay on top of Crimea latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps. While the takeover of Crimea was nearly bloodless, the situation in eastern Ukraine quickly descended into a state of open warfare that claimed more than 10,000 lives over the next four years. After Ukrainian independence in 1991, most of the peninsula was reorganised as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The Soviet fleet in Crimea was in contention, but a 1997 treaty allowed Russia to continue basing its fleet in Sevastopol.