059 PUTIN TAKES CRIMEA 2014: Grey-Zone Warfare Opens the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 was almost bloodless - fought as much through propaganda, cyberattacks, and subversion as by force of arms - but it is crucial for our understanding of both modern warfare and recent Russian history. Ironically, this slick triumph eventually led to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest and costliest conventional war in Europe since 1945. Examines how Russia developed its new model of 'hybrid' or 'grey-zone' warfare, and planned and deployed it against Crimea, from the choreographed appearance of 'spontaneous' protesters through to the deployment of unbadged Russian elite forces.