Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

Masked men at the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea during its attack, 27 February 2014
Armed men without insignia (so-called "little green men") at Simferopol Airport, 28 February 2014
"Little green men" armed with AK-74Ms blockading Perevalne military base, 25 kilometres south of Simferopol, 9 March 2014
External Media
video icon Russia's Little Green Men Enter Ukraine: Russian Roulette in Ukraine, Vice News, 4:35; YouTube
video icon Sneaking Into A Ukrainian Military Base, Vice News, 7:00; YouTube
video icon Getting Stuck on a Ukrainian Battleship: Russian Roulette in Ukraine, Vice News, 11:50; YouTube
Russian "Polite People" morale patch

Little green men (Russian: зелёные человечки, romanizedzelyonye chelovechki; Ukrainian: зелені чоловічки, romanizedzeleni cholovichky; Polish: zielone ludziki) are masked soldiers of the Russian Federation who appeared during the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 carrying weapons and equipment, but wearing unmarked green army uniforms.[1]

The term first arose during the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, a period from late February to March 2014, when such forces occupied and blockaded the Simferopol International Airport,[2] most military bases in Crimea,[3] and the parliament in Simferopol. The term has also sometimes been used to refer to Russian troops during the war in Donbas; the Kremlin denied its official involvement or the presence of its troops in the region, and they wore unmarked uniforms or disguised themselves as pro-Russian separatists.[4][5]

Russian media referred to them with the euphemism "polite people" (Russian: вежливые люди, romanized: vezhlivye lyudi)[6][7] due to their well-mannered behavior, as they kept to themselves and mostly made no effort to interfere with civilian life.[8]

The Russian Federation initially denied that these were Russian military forces, but on 17 April 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin finally confirmed the presence of the Russian military.[9][10] Furthermore, numerous sources, including Russian state media, have confirmed that the "little green men" were a mix of operatives from the Special Operations Forces and various other Spetsnaz GRU units. It likely also included paratroopers of the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade of the VDV,[11][12][13] and Wagner Group military contractors.[14][15] While their status as troops acting under the orders of the Russian government was continually denied, their nationality was not. Alexander Borodai, Prime Minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, stated that 50,000 Russian citizens fought in the Donbas up to August 2015, and argued that they should receive the same benefits as Russia's other war veterans (while still proclaiming that the government did not send them).[16]

  1. ^ Schreck, Carl (26 February 2019). "From 'Not Us' To 'Why Hide It?': How Russia Denied Its Crimea Invasion, Then Admitted It". rferl.org. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Ukraine crisis: 'Russians' occupy Crimea airports". BBC News. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  3. ^ Shevchenko, Vitaly (11 March 2014). ""Little green men" or "Russian invaders"?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  4. ^ "For now, a tense quiet in Ukraine's east". america.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  5. ^ Buckley, Neil; Olearchyk, Roman; Jack, Andrew; Hille, Kathrin (16 April 2014). "Ukraine's 'little green men' carefully mask their identity". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022. Locals said that what exactly happened to make Novoazovsk headline news remains unclear, but military experts believe the Russian troops and military hardware may have moved north into rebel-held territory shortly after crossing the border. Some said they saw tanks and other military vehicles stationed about 10 miles outside the city, while others said they saw "green men" such as the ones who appeared in the Crimean Peninsula in late February.
  6. ^ ""Вежливые люди" из бронзы появились в Симферополе" [(Monument to) "Polite people" made of bronze appeared in Simferopol]. BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). 11 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Russia Unveils Monument To 'Polite People' Behind Crimean Invasion". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  8. ^ Oliphant, Roland (2 March 2014). "Ukraine crisis: 'Polite people' leading the silent invasion of the Crimea". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  9. ^ Путин: в Крыму действовали российские военные [Putin: there were Russian military operating in Crimea]. rferl.org (in Russian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  10. ^ Lally, Kathy (17 April 2014). "Putin's remarks raise fears of future moves against Ukraine". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  11. ^ Synovitz, Ron (4 March 2014). "Russian Forces in Crimea: Who Are They And Where Did They Come From?". rferl.org. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  12. ^ Reeves, Shane R.; Wallace, David (2015). "The Combatant Status of the "Little Green Men" and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict". International Law Studies. 91: 393. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  13. ^ Pulkki, Arto (3 March 2014). "Krimillä on Venäjän asevoimien ensilinjan joukkoja" [Crimea has first-line troops of the Russian armed forces]. Suomen Sotilas (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Revealed: Russia's 'Secret Syria Mercenaries'". Sky News. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Russian Mercenaries in Syria". Warsaw Institute. 22 April 2017. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Former Ukraine rebel head starts support group for Russian fighters". Yahoo News (AFP). 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2021.

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