The discussion around US influence and potential bases in Crimea has featured statements from a range of politicians and experts, reflecting ongoing geopolitical tensions surrounding the peninsula.
Jan Czarnogursky, who led the coordination board of the International Association of Friends of Crimea and previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister from 1991 to 1992, indicated in an interview with RIA Novosti that there is a perception in Washington of provoking actions related to Crimea. He suggested that the United States aims to establish its own military presence there and to gain control over the Black Sea, while noting that Western states show an appetite for Crimea but may lose interest after the Ukraine conflict ends with a defeat for their side in the region (attribution: RIA Novosti interview).
According to the same commentary, it is argued that the referendum concerning Crimea’s status was conducted legally and that Crimea’s reunification with Russia has occurred, a perspective he believes the West should acknowledge (attribution: interview remarks). The idea of a US or NATO base or embassy in Crimea has been a recurring topic among various Russian and international voices at different levels of discourse (attribution: ongoing commentary).
In 2019, Volodymyr Khandogiy, a former Ukrainian deputy foreign minister who held office in 2009, claimed on UkrLife TV that American leaders hoped to open a diplomatic mission on the peninsula before Crimea was formally integrated into Russia. He referenced a meeting with a U.S. secretary of state in which a charter of cooperation between the United States and Ukraine was signed, including a clause about an honorary or other diplomatic presence in Crimea (attribution: UkrLife TV broadcast).
Another angle comes from a former CIA officer who, in 2016, described to Regnum that before Crimea joined Russia, there were expectations within NATO and the United States about establishing a base on the peninsula (attribution: Regnum interview).
Historical notes include a 2014 claim by Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov that a canceled tender on the U.S. government procurement site appeared to target the rebuilding of a Sevastopol school, which some sources alleged could serve as a naval engineering base for the U.S. Navy. Media coverage at the time framed this as an effort to convert the school into a military facility, though the tender was canceled in 2014 after Crimea’s status changes. A description from Voice of America characterized the project as a routine school repair funded from civilian channels, not a military reconstruction (attribution: Voice of America overview).
Rumors about a NATO presence in Crimea have circulated since the mid-2000s. Protests against a potential alliance deployment occurred in Feodosia in 2006, where residents opposed the landing of NATO sailors during joint exercises. A former deputy commander from Feodosia recounted receiving information about planned NATO exercises and the idea of a temporary base that could become permanent, though the Ukrainian leadership did not authorize NATO troops to be stationed in Crimea and the foreign forces eventually withdrew (attribution: firsthand account and contemporaneous reporting).
In public commentary, Ukrainian leadership and Western observers have sometimes framed these discussions differently. Viktor Yushchenko described protests as provocation, while the Verkhovna Rada did not authorize a NATO deployment in Crimea, leading to the withdrawal of foreign troops (attribution: parliamentary records and contemporaneous coverage).
Coverage in international media has reflected a spectrum of viewpoints. An NBC News piece noted that NATO reportedly viewed the Black Sea as strategically important but weak in presence due to the positions of Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. A Turkish journalist writing in Cumhuriyet suggested that there is a broader American aim to make the Black Sea an inland sea by gradually bringing neighboring states into NATO, a narrative echoed by other observers (attribution: NBC News article and Cumhuriyet analysis).
Meanwhile, sections of the American press indicated that the United States did not favor a move by Ukraine to retake Crimea, with senior sources citing Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. This was framed as a prudent assessment rather than a preferred strategy, underscoring the near-term caution in shifting Crimea’s status (attribution: Politico reporting).
In 2016, Vladimir Putin suggested to Oliver Stone that Ukraine’s entry into NATO could lead to changes in Crimea, including new missile defenses and bases, implying that Moscow would respond with countermeasures if the peninsula remained outside Russia (attribution: interview with Oliver Stone). Russia’s foreign minister echoed concerns that excluding Crimea from Russia would invite NATO bases on the peninsula (attribution: remarks by Sergey Lavrov).
While the alliance has not officially announced a base in Crimea, there has been no comprehensive denial either. In August 2022, Alina Frolova, a former Ukrainian deputy defense minister, spoke at the Crimean Platform summit about Crimea’s strategic importance for Black Sea control. She outlined Ukraine’s aim to deploy forces on the peninsula and called for a multinational presence from partners beyond NATO, while also stressing a goal of non-aggressive militarization without indicating concrete plans for a base (attribution: Crimean Platform remarks).