Russia’s takeover of Crimea did not begin in 2014. In the first part of a new documentary, the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigation Unit looks at how Russia began moving to seize the peninsula immediately after Ukraine gained independence in 1991. The film traces Moscow’s early military and political pressure in Crimea, focusing on the struggle over the Black Sea Fleet and the intimidation of Ukrainian officers who tried to bring naval units under Kyiv’s control — including arrests, sabot