Russia has always had a difficult time accepting Ukraine as an independent state -and even more trouble acknowledging Ukraine's sovereignty over the Crimea and the port of Sevastopol.
The signing of an interstate treaty in 1997 recognizing the Russian-Ukrainian border paved the way for a compromise twenty-year Russian lease of the Sevastopol navy base for the Black Sea Fleet. Several factors have unraveled this compromise, including Russia's desire to reestablish itself internationally as a Great Power, the 2004 Orange Revolution, and the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. Taras Kuzio addresses these factors and more in an in-depth analysis of Russian-Ukraine relations and the future of the Crimea and the port of Sevastopol.