Building of the Supreme Council of Crimea in the context of "Supreme Council of Crimea"

The "little green men" (Russian: зелёные человечки, romanized: zelyonye chelovechki; Ukrainian: зелені чоловічки, romanized: zeleni cholovichky) were Russian soldiers who were masked and wore unmarked uniforms upon the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014. They were active just before and during the Russian annexation of Crimea and carried regular weapons and equipment, but were always masked and wore distinctly unmarked green military fatigues. Russia, which had been denying any involvement in Ukraine prior to the annexation, used these little green men to give it plausible deniability on the international stage.

Between February and March 2014, these unmarked Russian soldiers occupied and blockaded the Simferopol International Airport, most of Ukraine's Crimean military bases, and the Supreme Council of Crimea. The name has also sometimes been used to refer to Russian troops during the War in Donbas; the Kremlin stated that no Russian troops were active in the region, but many little green men were operating in this region while disguised as pro-Russian separatists.

On 27 February 2014, the Crimean Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was taken over by unmarked Russian soldiers. It was among the events that triggered the Russo-Ukrainian War and laid the foundation for Crimea's annexation three weeks later. The Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea described the incident as a terrorist attack. A few hours into the takeover, Russia replaced the Prime Minister of Crimea, removing Ukrainian politician Anatolii Mohyliov and installing Russian politician Sergey Aksyonov in his stead.