On April 23, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social account to mock Ukraine’s response to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. He wrote:
“If [Zelensky] wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”
It’s the kind of historical rewrite that serves only one purpose: to justify Vladimir Putin’s war crimes and downplay Ukraine’s sovereignty. And like most of what Trump says about foreign policy, it’s both misleading and dangerous.
So let’s set the record straight.
Context: Ukraine Was in Chaos And Russia Knew It
Russia’s invasion of Crimea didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened days after Ukraine’s Euromaidan Revolution, when protestors overthrew the corrupt, Kremlin-aligned President Viktor Yanukovych after he ordered security forces to open fire on civilians, killing over 100 people. Yanukovych fled to Russia. Ukraine was leaderless, exhausted, and politically gutted.
That’s when Russian special forces, many without insignia, began seizing airports, parliament buildings, and military bases in Crimea. Russian troops were already stationed on the peninsula under agreements allowing Moscow to keep its Black Sea Fleet there. Putin didn’t need to launch a dramatic invasion; the pieces had been placed long before.
“No Shots Fired”? Wrong. Ukraine Resisted.
Despite claims to the contrary, Ukraine did resist. At Balbek Air Base, Ukrainian soldiers stood their ground. Over 4,000 troops refused to surrender, even when surrounded. Cadets, officers, and enlisted soldiers held out for nearly a month, hopelessly outgunned and isolated.
What they didn’t have? Ammo. Supplies. Backup. The U.S. and U.K., signatories of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, refused to intervene. As then-acting President Turchynov later recalled, “Ukraine wasn’t given a single bullet.”
Why Ukraine Wasn’t Ready for a War
Between 2010 and 2014, Ukraine’s military was systematically dismantled, from the inside. Yanukovych cut funding, disbanded units in Crimea, and signed deals that allowed Russia to move troops freely around the peninsula. Intelligence agencies were infiltrated. Pro-Russian leadership filled the ranks. Loyalty was sabotaged from within.
When Russia moved, much of Ukraine’s military command in Crimea either defected or was too compromised to act. One newly appointed naval commander even ordered his units to surrender their weapons just a day after taking command.
This wasn’t a “peaceful handover.” It was a silent coup backed by years of Kremlin preparation.
The Real Story: Crimea Was Lost Long Before the Tanks Rolled In
The seeds of annexation were planted in 2010 when Yanukovych came to power. The goal was clear: hollow out Ukraine’s institutions, weaken its military, and make sure no one would, or could, fight back. By 2014, Russia didn’t need to wage a war. It just flipped a switch.
International observers were banned. A sham referendum was staged at gunpoint. And on March 21, 2014, Moscow declared Crimea Russian territory. No legitimate country recognizes it.
So Could Ukraine Have Stopped It?
Not without help. Not with a gutted military. Not while reeling from a revolution. And certainly not when the U.S. and U.K. decided “not to provoke Russia.”
Trump knows this. But it’s more useful for him to blame Ukraine than to admit Russia planned this annexation for years and that the West failed to stop it.
Let’s stop pretending Ukraine didn’t fight. It did. And it still does.
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