On February 25, 2014, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared on media, claiming “We have confirmed our principled position to not interfere in Ukraine`s internal affairs and expect all [foreign powers] to follow a similar logic.” In Simferopol, 36 hours later, armed and masked men broke into the Crimean parliament. This was the start of a Russian assault on Ukrainian territory, and in the following days, “small green men” seized control over the Crimean peninsula.