[9][10][6][11][12] The region is recognized by most countries as Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as one of Ukraine's cities with special status while, since its annexation, the region has been de facto governed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as a city of federal importance.
[16][17] Following its occupation and annexation of Crimea, Russia recognized and maintained the existing status of the peninsula's 18 cities.
[18][19] Due to the international support for UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262, which recognizes Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea and endorses a policy of non-recognition of Russia's occupation of the peninsula, the new city status is largely not recognized.
[20][21][22] Two cities on the peninsula (Kerch and Sevastopol) were awarded by Soviet officials with the honorary title Hero City of Ukraine in 1973 and 1965, respectively, for their resistance to the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II; the titles were renewed in 2022 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
[27][29] Since the country's independence in 1991, the territory of the Sevastopol City Council has been divided between four urban districts: Gagarin, Lenin, Nakhimov, and Balaklava.