21 Times Journalists Have Confirmed Masked Troops in Crimea Are Russian

It's been nearly a week since soldiers wearing unmarked uniforms invaded southern Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

The majority thinks the troops are from the house next door, and some of the soldiers have even admitted it themselves. Others have shown it inadvertently with their license plates, social media postings and tags left sewn on their gear.

A Ukrainian man stands in protest in front of gunmen in unmarked uniforms as they stand guard in Balaklava, on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2014. Credit: Andrew Lubimov

However, Russia's President Vladimir Putin -- and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, too -- denies that the troops are his. They are simply "local militias," Putin said, and anyone "can go to a store and buy a uniform." Even Secretary of State John Kerry is surprised they won't own up.

Troops in unmarked uniforms stand guard in Balaklava on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2014. An emblem on one of the vehicles and their number plates identify them as belonging to the Russian military. Credit: Andrew Lubimov

But journalists on the ground have confirmed several times that the troops in Crimea are indeed from Russia. So, working in a thread with the folks at Reddit's r/UkrainianConflict subreddit, I've compiled a list of 21 pieces of evidence.

[View the story "21 Reasons Crimea's \"Friendly\" Occupiers are Russians" on Storify]

Editor's Note: A very special thanks to the Redditors on r/UkrainianConflict who helped me out in this thread. Visit that thread for further evidence that I didn't include on this list. To name a few: /u/uptodatepronto, /u/jesuswithoutabeard, /u/NieustannyPodziw, /u/Comissargrimdark, /u/imjesusbitch, /u/captsolo, /u/armorLT, /u/cyberdork, /u/grettasgg, /u/Kriptik, /u/magneticair, /u/idio3, /u/grettasgg, /u/thisislikemythirdalt, /u/thisislikemythirdalt, /u/VerVeritas, /u/grettasgg, /u/thisislikemythirdalt, and everyone else in this thread.