Little green men (Ukrainian crisis)


The phrase "little green men" refers to masked soldiers of the Russian Federation in unmarked green army uniforms and carrying modern Russian military weapons and equipment who appeared during the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. The term first arose during the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, when such forces occupied and blockaded the Simferopol International Airport, most military bases in Crimea, and the parliament in Simferopol. They also became known as "polite people" as they were perceived often by local Ukrainians to behave in a highly professional manner, despite being at the time a self-described "self-defense" force.
The Russian Federation initially denied that these were Russian military forces, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin on 17 April 2014 finally confirmed the presence of the Russian military. 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. Also, it was very likely the paratroopers of the 45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the VDV made up a portion of it as well.

Weapons and equipment analysis

In March 2014, the Finnish magazine Suomen Sotilas published an analysis of the weapons and equipment seen on photos of "little green men".
The article points to a number of weapons and pieces of equipment that it asserts are issued only to armed forces in the Russian Federation:
The article goes on to conclude that with a very high probability "these troops are the 45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the VDV" based in Kubinka, Moscow.
Other media has published a photo of an unmarked Russian soldier armed with a VSS Vintorez taken as proof of deployment of Russian special forces.

Official Russian reaction

Initially, President of Russia Vladimir Putin stated that the men in green were not part of the Russian Armed Forces, but groups of local militia who had seized their weapons from the Ukrainian Army. The SACEUR of NATO Allied Command Operations General Philip Breedlove said that these "green men" were in fact Russian troops.
In March 2014, Putin continued to maintain that there was no pre-planned intervention, but that "the heavily armed, tightly coordinated groups who took over Crimea's airports and ports at the start of the incursion – they were merely spontaneous 'self-defence groups' who may have acquired their Russian-looking uniforms from local shops ". According to the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners, Ukrainian law does not allow the selling or carrying of firearms other than for hunting.
On 17 April, President Putin admitted for the first time publicly that Russian special forces were involved in the events of Crimea, for the purposes of protecting local people and creating conditions for a referendum. Later, he admitted that the Russian Armed Forces had blocked the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea during the events.
In answer to the question of the presence of Russian troops in Crimea, Russian Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu said, "Regarding the statements about use of Russian special forces in Ukrainian events, I can only say one thing – it's hard to search for a black cat in a dark room, especially if it's not there," and added cryptically that searching for the cat would be "stupid" if the cat is "intelligent, brave, and polite".
In April 2015, retired Russian Admiral said that the "little green men" were members of Russian Spetsnaz special forces units. According to his information, Russian troop deployment in Crimea included six helicopter landings and three landings of Ilyushin Il-76 with 500 people.