There are issues when you divorce one country and join another , writes CNN 's Tim Lister . The biggest headache is geographical : Crimea has no land border with Russia . It was part of Ukraine until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. In fact , the Ukrainians admitted this month that only four navy ships were battle-ready , and the fleet 's commander has already switched allegiance . Currently ATMs in Crimea still dispense hryvnia , the Ukrainian currency .
There are issues when you divorce one country and join another , writes CNN 's Tim Lister . The biggest headache is geographical : Crimea has no land border with Russia . It was part of Ukraine until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Currently ATMs in Crimea still dispense hryvnia , the Ukrainian currency .