Friday, the last day of winter 2014. The world quickly spreads the message: airports and transportation companies that organized safe air traffic to Crimea are now seized by the Russians. Information in the media is traditionally delayed. After all, on February 27, 2014, at approximately 21:30, people with weapons appeared at the entrance to Sevastopol airport. Wearing military uniforms without insignia, they surrounded the airport. The group leader introduces himself as Roman. Roman claims that the purpose of their arrival at the airfield is to prevent the landing of planes with extremists.

On February 28, 2014, Ukrainian pilots still try to start two military aircraft. However, at around 15:55, armed men in balaclavas driving three "Ural" vehicles block the taxiways. It is no longer possible for the fighter planes of the 204th Sevastopol Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force (military unit A4515) based at this airfield to take off. At the same time, sniper positions are being set up on the roof of the airport building.

The situation is similar near Simferopol. On February 28, 2014 at 9:10, the buildings of the State Enterprise "Krymaerorukh" at 53 Fedorovskaya Street and the adjacent airport "Simferopol" were seized by the Black Sea Fleet servicemen armed with automatic small arms in cooperation with representatives of the FSB and a unit of the GRU of the Russian Armed Forces. These are about 120 people. They are assisted by another 100 militants of the "Cossack Hundred". The day before, military transport aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces were scheduled to land there. Employees of the state-owned enterprise refused to cooperate with the occupier. After the seizure of the airport without a separate order from representatives of the Russian Armed Forces, landing and takeoff of aircraft became impossible here as well. The so-called "Chief of Staff of the Crimean Self-Defense" Vladimir Mertsalov gives several interviews from under the Simferopol airport on that gloomy day. He claims that it is a security detail to prevent radicalized elements from entering Crimea. He emphasizes that neither his men nor the military interfere with the airport.

Similar events are taking place in parallel at other airports on the peninsula. On February 27, 2014, Russian troops arrived in Novofedorivka. On February 28, 2014, 10-15 Russian soldiers and a KAMAZ truck are standing near the checkpoint in Dzhankoy, ready to block the entrance to the military unit at any moment. On the same day, a KAMAZ also arrives on the territory of the Yevpatoria Aircraft Repair Plant, first at the checkpoint and then at the runway. On March 1, 2014, the military airfield of the State Research and Testing Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kirovske near Feodosia was seized. The Crimean airfields near the settlements of Kacha and Hvardiyske were used by the Black Sea Fleet under the 1997 Fleet Division Agreement. The Russians move personnel, military equipment, and weapons to Crimea in advance, including using these airfields.

However, special attention is focused on Belbek, the airfield closest to the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. There are several MiG-29 fighter jets and L-39 trainer aircraft here. This airport is also an international aviation enterprise, created on the basis of a military airfield near Sevastopol, which also served other cities in Crimea. It is a place of strategic importance. Both military and civilian aircraft, including official delegations, arrived here. Airplanes of the state's top officials often landed and took off from near Sevastopol. On February 22, 2014, fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych was expected here, but he chose a different route.

Only in the last days of February 2014, a galaxy of iconic figures visited Belbek. Arsen Avakov and Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, who had just become heads of Ukraine's central security agencies, came here in search of Yanukovych. Belbek also hosted future deserters and traitors to Ukraine: the then Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Yuriy Ilyin, and later Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev. On February 27, 2014, a delegation of State Duma deputies arrived from Russia: Vladimir Vasiliev, Nikolai Valuev, Valentina Tereshkova, Irina Rodnina, Mikhail Markelov, Dmitry Savelyev, and Moscow Mayor Alexander Sobyanin.

Apparently realizing the importance of Belbek, they are bringing in about 300 Russian troops, 17 Ural trucks, and 2 armored personnel carriers. By seizing Crimea's airports, the Russians are effectively cutting off the possibility of political dialogue with the Ukrainian government and international organizations. Further attempts by government officials, civic activists, political leaders, and volunteers to reach the peninsula now face serious danger. At airports, they are met with aggressive attitudes, threats, and harassment immediately upon arrival.

The commander of the military unit A4515 is aware of the seizure of the power centers in Simferopol and categorically refuses to leave the military unit, equipment, weapons, or go over to the side of the Russian Federation. Thus, according to the Prosecutor's Office of the ARC and Sevastopol, on March 01, 2014, at approximately 13:00, the Russian military took armed control of all airfield facilities, except for the buried defensive command post.

Russian special forces seized all the objects of the airfield zone on March 02, 2014. The supply of food to the personnel of the military unit A4515, the warehouses of the special engineering service, and small arms were blocked. At approximately 19:30, the posts guarding the warehouses of aircraft and rocket and artillery weapons were also seized. The Russians use stun grenades. The chief of staff of the military unit is seriously injured.

Threats and violence are rapidly dispelling hopes for any kind of dialog. Ultimatums to surrender to the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already been publicly issued by the Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Alexander Vitko, and the former Commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Denis Berezovsky. On March 03, 2014, the military from the Sevastopol airport received such an ultimatum - to take an oath of "allegiance to Crimea" within 24 hours or leave the peninsula - from the deputy head of the Black Sea Fleet communications center. The 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade remains loyal to its oath to the people of Ukraine. Civilians come out to support the Ukrainian military.

Belbek has made headlines before. Before the Russian invasion, the occupiers had captured it only once - on the orders of Adolf Hitler. After the victory, the 62nd Fighter Regiment, formed in 1941, was stationed here. The Sevastopol Tactical Aviation Brigade was created in 1992 on the basis of this regiment. The Ukrainian military also inherited the red battle flag, which was carried during the Second World War. So on March 4, 2014, this historic banner was carried alongside the national flag of Ukraine to demonstrate its status as a garrison outpost.

Until the 1980s, the airfield was focused exclusively on military needs, but with the construction of another state mansion in Foros for the recreation of top officials, the question of accepting civilian aircraft near Sevastopol arose. To ensure a comfortable stay for Mikhail Gorbachev and his guests, the first foundations for civil aviation were laid at the Belbek airfield. This process was personally led by Dmitry Yazov, then Minister of Defense of the USSR, later a member of the self-proclaimed State Committee for the State of Emergency.

In August 1991, in Foros, the State Committee for the State of Emergency isolated the first president of the USSR. An entire company of marines was then on guard at the airfield near Sevastopol to prevent attempts to rescue the prisoner. In the end, Belbek was used by Yeltsin's then-associate Alexander Rutskoy, who flew from Moscow to rescue Mikhail Gorbachev. 

During the years of Ukraine's independence, the airport received a license for international air transportation, and further expansion of its civilian potential was planned. Similar trends, for example, took place in Dzhankoy. 

The Russian occupation has put these business plans on hold. International law obliged Ukraine to close the airspace over the entire territory of the peninsula in March 2014, as it became impossible to guarantee flight safety. As early as May 2014, there were first reports of Russian forces building up at Belbek, an important springboard for Russia to wage war and militarize the peninsula.

Officially, the Russian authorities announce the airport reconstruction in 2020. The airfield can accommodate all types of aircraft. A Russian aviation military unit, the 38th Fighter Aviation Regiment, is based here. Belbek can also be used as a logistics airfield for the occupation army on the peninsula. Many experts assume that they are preparing to receive nuclear weapons carriers. The occupiers brought the new 200-meter runway closer to the 70-meter cliff. A concrete plant was built on the site of the former 3rd Aviation Squadron. From Belbek, it becomes easier for Russians to threaten the democratic world with their Backfire. The runway here has been converted for heavy bombers. 

On the eve of a large-scale invasion, Russia is once again increasing its military power in Crimea. This includes not only 42,000 military personnel united in offensive formations, but also all types of aircraft deployed - bombers, attack aircraft, fighters, and support aircraft, including those near Sevastopol. Tu-aircrafts, which launch X-type missiles, are based in Belbek, among other places.