4.30 a.m. The first minutes of the little green men taking over the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Armed with machine guns, they lie on the stairs by the central entrance to the parliament. The locals call it the Pentagon after the pentagonal shape. Russia later admitted that these had been its regular soldiers. Simferopol, Ukraine. February 27, 2014
The little green men are taking down the state flag of Ukraine from the Crimean Verkhovna Rada. A few minutes later, they flew the Russian tricolor. This marks the beginning of the occupation of Crimea by Russia. Simferopol, Ukraine. February 27, 2014
Russian attack helicopters Mi-8 and Mi-24 fly to the Belbek airfield in Sevastopol from Russian territory. Within the first days, the priority of the Russian military was to neutralize Ukrainian military aviation and air defense. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2, 2014
The little green men are in the newly seized airport of Simferopol, one of the biggest ones in Europe. The Russians seized it in the first hours of the occupation to prevent any dislocation of Ukrainian military reinforcement to Crimea. Crimea, Ukraine. February 2014
The little green men seize the arsenal at headquarters of the Ukrainian Naval Forces Command in Sevastopol to protect themselves from an organized armed resistance by the Ukrainian military. Crimea, Ukraine. February 2014
The little green men cut the wire fence around the secret bunker of the Ukrainian air defense command in Crimea. Their goal was to prevent the shooting down of the Russian airforce sent as reinforcement to block the Ukrainian military units. Most locals had no idea that the object was located near their homes. February 2014
The little green men march by the fence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces 36th Coast Defense Brigade unit in Perevalne, a town near Simferopol. An hour later they launched the blockade of one of Ukraine’s most battle ready military units in Crimea. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2, 2014
A little green man against the background of the Russian military equipment by the temporary field deployment of the Russian military. It was set up near the territory of the UAF 36th Coast Defense Brigade unit in Perevalne. The goal was to block the Ukrainian military. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2, 2014
The little green men patrol administration buildings in downtown Simferopol. Virtually the whole city center was locked down in the first days of the occupation. Crimea, Ukraine. February, 2014
Yuliy Mamchur, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, holds a Ukrainian flag as he leads an unarmed column of soldiers and officers from the Sevastopol Tactical Aviation Brigade (Ukrainian Armed Forces) towards the block post of the little green men at the entrance to the Belbek airfield. The airfield was captured by the Russian military the night before. They damaged all attack airplanes on it. Soon, the Russians started shooting in the air to stop the column. After talks, the Ukrainian military managed to partially get the unit back under Ukrainian control during the day. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 4, 2014
A little green man aims his grenade launcher at the column of the unarmed Ukrainian military led by Yuliy Mamchur as they walk to the Belbek airfield. The Russian military had captured it by that point. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 4, 2014
A convoy of Russian military equipment with the little green men in Balaklava comes to seize a Ukrainian border guard unit. The Russians took off plates from most of their vehicles to hide the fact that they were from the Russian Army. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 1, 2014
A little green man with priests in the background. They shield the checkpoint of the Ukrainian border guard unit in Balaklava. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 1, 2014
Russian attack helicopters fly over the Kerch Strait. This picture was taken from a vessel in the Black Sea. From the very first hours of its aggression, Russia was sending additional military force to Crimea en masse in violation of all international agreements. Kerch, Crimea, Ukraine. March 3, 2014
The little green men block a Ukrainian military unit in the center of Simferopol. I used to walk past this unit on the way to my grandmother’s house many times as a child. I could never imagine that one day, the Russian military would pop up there with machine guns in their hands. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The little green men demand that the Ukrainian military remove the APC they put in front of the gate at the 191st Training Unit of the Ukrainian Naval Forces. This was done to prevent the Russians from taking out part of the ammunition they seized on the territory of the unit. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The first little green man speaks to the press with his face open. He admits that he is a Russian soldier. The Russian soldier speaks in front of the Russian military vehicles blocking the Kerch Strait ferry crossing. Kerch, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A shot from the dashboard camera of a car shows a huge convoy of over 70 Russian armored vehicles heading to Feodosiya from Simferopol. March 2014
A Ukrainian marine officer demands the little green men to allow the delivery of food supplies to the crew of the Ukrainian Navy vessels, Slavutych and Ternopil. The vessels are in the bay while the Russian military block the entrance to it. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A Russian military convoy moves along the Yalta highway by Pionerske, a town, exiting Simferopol. It heads to Perevalne to block the UAF 36th Coast Defense Brigade. This road has the longest trolleybus route in the world that used to be wildly popular among the tourists heading to the southern coast of Crimea. I loved taking that slow route and enjoying the beautiful Crimean landscapes from the window. March 2014
The little green men are relaxed, taking shifts at night as they block the Ukrainian military unit in Yevpatoriya. It hosts BUK-M1 missile systems. These can be used to shoot down Russian airplane. This fact made the unit one of the first target. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A Russian military truck with the little green men blocks the road to the Ukrainian airfield Belbek. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A little green man is having breakfast on the bumper of KAMAZ, a Russian military truck. He eats a Voyentorg (Russian Military Supplies) branded C-ration that also carries a Russian military emblem on the packaging. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The little green men block the entrance to the UAF 36th Coast Defense Brigade in Perevalne. Despite the attempts of the Russian soldiers at a blockade, the locals and volunteers find an opportunity to throw the food for the Ukrainian military over the fence. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
GAZ Tigr, an armored vehicle, stands next to the UAF 36th Coast Defense Brigade, the unit blocked by the little green men in Perevalne. This type of vehicles is used in the Russian Army exclusively. The blocked Ukrainian unit holds a lot of armored vehicles, therefore significant Russian forces are concentrated here. March 2014
The Russian military sinks Ochakov, a decommissioned Kara-class cruiser of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in the channel leading to the Donuzlav lake in Crimea. The goal is to block the vessels of the Southern Naval Base of the Ukrainian Naval Forces in the lake. Before that, three more vessels were sunk. Novoozernyi, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The little green men get off a military truck by the Belbek airfield. The Russians are already in control of the take-off field but administration premises are still held by the Ukrainian military. March 2014
A Russian APC breaks through the fence around the UAF Sevastopol Tactical Aviation Brigade headquarters at the Belbek airfield which the Ukrainian military controlled up until the last moment. Before the occupation of Crimea began, the Russian Army had had virtually no armored vehicles at the bases it had been renting on the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea. March 2014
The convoy of the Russian military trucks with the little green men moves from Simferopol to Sevastopol. Every passing day saw more and more of these in Crimea. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The Russian military no longer hide the fact that they are the Russian Army. They seize Kostiantyn Olshanskyi, a Ukrainian Ropucha-class large landing ship. Its crew had been on a perimeter defense with another ship of the Ukrainian Navy, the Cherkasy minesweeper. On March 24, most of the crew left the ship but did not switch allegiance for Russia. 20 military stayed at Kostiantyn Olshanskyi. On March 24, nearly 200 Russian soldiers stormed and seized the ship using grenades and machine guns. Crimea, Ukraine. March 24, 2014
The little green men snipers patrol on a roof as the Russian military storm the photogrammetry center of the Central Military Topography and Navigation Department, part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Operational Support Headquarters. Soon, the Russians killed Ensign Serhiy Kakurin and wounded another Ukrainian officer. Kakurin was the only victim from Ukrainian military over the period of Crimea occupation. On the same day, the Russian leadership announced that Crimea became part of the Russian Federation. Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 18, 2014
The little green men stand around the Coast Defense Unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Perevalne. Later, the Russian Army seized it. Russia transferred part of the military equipment to Ukraine, but it was damaged. When the Russian aggression began in the Donbas in April, Russia halted that transfer. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The little green men seize the Southern Naval Base of the Ukrainian Navy in Novoozerne on the Donuzlav lake. A few minutes before, a tractor broke down the gate and the barricades. The Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are negotiating. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A Russian APC with the little green men on board is heading to storm the 1st Ukrainian Marine Battalion in Feodosiya. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The little green men storm an administration building of the Sevastopol Tactical Aviation Brigade, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at the Belbek airfield and throw a stun grenade inside. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A little green man is shouting at a Ukrainian soldier during the storming of the Belbek airfield. The Ukrainian soldier is trying to talk to the Russian special operations unit to prevent bloodshed. This photo shows that, for a long time, Ukraine thought it did not need an army because it was not going to fight with anyone. The background features unarmed Ukrainian soldiers in different fatigues, a stark contrast to the Russian military dressed in unified camo, armed with modern weapons and fully battle ready. Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
Ukrainian minesweeper Cherkasy tries to drag a vessel sunk by the Russians in the channel to the Donuzlav lake to allow the Ukrainian Navy vessels to go into the open seas. Cherkasy defended itself from the Russian military the longest and took many attempts to break out of the trap. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A little green man ties the hands of Ukrainian marines captured by the Russians after the night storming of the 1st Marine Battalion in Feodosiya. The Ukrainian marines offered staunch resistance. The Russians had to send in a helicopter. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
The Russian military trucks transfer the Ukrainian marines captured from their unit in Feodosiya. Only a third of those left the occupied Crimea and continued their service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Crimea, Ukraine. March 2014
A Russian attack helicopter patrols the coast by Beliaus in South-Western Crimea. When I hear the word “sea” I think of this location. This was where I learned to swim. This was where many generations of my family grew up. I would tell the sand from this coast from any other. Now, it is only reachable through my memories. Ukraine. March 2014