The situation in Crimea in 1992-95 was particularly tense

In the years 1992-1995, the situation in Crimea was particularly tense. Russia supported local pro-Russian organizations. In May 1992, the authorities of Crimea tried to separate the Peninsula from Ukraine for the first time. The act of independence of the State Crimean Republic was announced, its own constitution was voted on and a referendum was set. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine considered these decisions as contradictory to the Constitution and deleted them. The second attempt took place in 1994, during the Crimean presidency of Yuriy Meshkov, who did not hide his connections with Russia. The Parliament of Crimea renewed the Constitution in 1992, according to which Crimea could independently determine its relationships with other countries. There was a huge political tension between Kiev, Simferopol and Moscow back then. Ukraine transferred significant military forces to the Peninsula to stabilize the situation. Eventually, the authorities in Kiev managed to stop the conflict without a bloodshed in May 1995. However, in the following years pro-Russian political forces and organizations were active in Crimea, and the presence of the Black Sea fleet of Russia was an additional destabilizing factor. After the war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, Ukrainian and Western experts warned about the possibility of Crimea joining Russia.