turned to them and said we're going to have to bring crimea back to russia. there's a list of names band died about. later, there were further decisions about implementation and some of his close deputies played a role in crimea, but the claim is that the initial decision was made without the defense ministers participation. many were opposed to this decision and foreseeing the potential consequences, but putin has the one and only important vote. in terms of the military action in eastern ukraine, by that point, the defense ministry is involved in those decisions, although it's hard to see exactly how the russian side has