Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, declared that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia. Until 2016 these new subjects were grouped in the Crimean Federal District. On 8 August 2016, Ukraine reported that Russia had increased its military presence along the demarcation line. In response to this military buildup Ukraine also deployed more troops and resources closer to the border with Crimea. The Pentagon has downplayed a Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling Russian troops along the border a regular military exercise. On 10 August, Russia claimed two servicemen were killed in clashes with Ukrainian commandos, and that Ukrainian servicemen had been
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation gas and electricity from mainland Ukraine. This requires building a bridge and a pipeline across the Kerch Strait. Also, Novinite claims that a Ukrainian expert told "Die Welt" that Crimea "will not be able to attract tourists". The first Deputy to Minister of Finance of Russian Federation Tatyana Nesterenko said in her interview to "Forbes Woman" that the decision to annex Crimea was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin exclusively, without consulting Russia's Finance Ministry. The Russian business newspaper "Kommersant" expresses an opinion that Russia will not acquire anything economically from "accessing" Crimea, which is not very developed industrially, having