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Location of cities on theCrimean peninsula, usingde facto pre-2023^[a] administrative boundaries, with red dots indicatingRussian-occupied cities and the blue dot markingBalaklava, the city status of which is generally not recognized.^[b][3] The pre-2023 administrative area ofSevastopol, on the southwestern end of the peninsula, is shaded in light gray.

There are 18^[b]populated places in theCrimean peninsula that are recognized as havingcity status.^[7][8] The territory of Crimeahas been disputed betweenRussia andUkraine sinceRussia's covert invasion andinternationally unrecognized annexation of the peninsula on 18 March 2014.^{[9][10][6][11][12]} The region isrecognized by most countries as Ukraine'sAutonomous Republic of Crimea andSevastopol as one of Ukraine'scities with special status while, since its annexation, the region has beende facto governed by Russia as theRepublic of Crimea and Sevastopol as acity of federal importance.^{[6][13][14][15]} As of 2014, the largest city on the peninsula by population according to Russia'spost-annexation census was Sevastopol, with a recorded population of 393,304 people, while the peninsula's second largest city wasSimferopol, with 332,317 people.^[8] The least populous city on the peninsula wasAlupka, which was recorded with a population of 7,771 people in the 2014 census.^[8]

In Ukraine, city status (Ukrainian:місто,romanized: misto) is granted by the country's parliament, theVerkhovna Rada, to settlements of 10,000 people or more or to settlements of historical or regional importance.^[16][17] Following its occupation and annexation of Crimea, Russia recognized and maintained the existing status of the peninsula's 18 cities.^[8] In 2019, Russian officials granted the settlementBalaklava, located in Sevastopol'sBalaklava urban district, the status of a city, although still keeping it as part of Sevastopol.^[18][19] Due to the international support forUN General Assembly Resolution 68/262, which recognizes Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea and endorses a policy of non-recognition ofRussia's occupation of the peninsula, the new city status is largely not recognized.^[4][6]

Following the passing ofdecommunization laws, the city ofKrasnoperekopsk wasrenamed in 2016 to Yany Kapu (itsoriginal Crimean Tatar name) for Krasnoperekopsk's connection to people, places, events, and organizations associated with theSoviet Union.^[20][21][22] Two cities on the peninsula (Kerch and Sevastopol) were awarded by Soviet officials with thehonorary titleHero City of Ukraine in 1973 and 1965, respectively, for their resistance to theAxis invasion of the Soviet Union duringWorld War II; the titles were renewed in 2022 byUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy.^[23][24]

From independence in 1991 to 2020, 11 cities in the autonomous republic were designated ascities of regional significance (municipalities), which had self-government undercity councils, while the autonomous republic's remaining five cities were located in 14raions (districts) ascities of district significance, which are subordinated to the governments of the raions.^[25][26][7] Sevastopol, as one of two^[c]cities given special status by theconstitution, was governed together with the city ofInkerman and other nearby settlements by theSevastopol City Council, independently from the autonomous republic.^[27][29] Since the country's independence in 1991, the territory of the Sevastopol City Council has been divided between foururban districts:Gagarin,Lenin,Nakhimov, andBalaklava.^[7]

On 17 July 2020, theUkrainian Verkhovna Rada passed amajor administrative reform, abolishing the autonomous republic's 11 city municipalities and 14 raions and merging them into 10 reformed raions.^[16][30][1] The ten raions that make up the territory of the autonomous republic areBakhchysarai,Bilohirsk,Dzhankoi,Yevpatoria,^[d]Kerch,^[e]Kurman,^[f]Perekop,^[g]Simferopol,Feodosia,^[h] andYalta raion.^[i][1] For Sevastopol, the Verkhovna Rada merged Inkerman and other surrounding areas outside Sevastopol's city boundary (except Balaklava, which remained administratively part of Sevastopol) into the enlarged Bakhchysarai raion.^[1] Due to the region'scontinued occupation since 2014, the new raions and boundaries have remained solelyde jure^[a] and Russian officials continue to use the pre-reform administrative divisions in Crimea.^[34][35][36]

• Largest cities in Crimea by population
• 
  Sevastopol, Crimea's largest city by population^[p] and site of amajor naval base^[39][8]
• 
  Simferopol, administrative center and second most populous city^[p] in Crimea^[40][8]
• 
  Kerch, important port city on theKerch Strait and Crimea's third largest city by population^[p][41][8]
• 
  Yevpatoria, major city on Crimea's west coast and fourth most populous city^[p] on the peninsula^[42][8]
• 
  Yalta, meeting place of theYalta Conference and fifth most populous city^[p] in Crimea^[43][8]

• List of cities in Ukraine

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCities in Crimea.

• Results of the 2014 Crimean census(in Russian)
• 2001 Ukrainian census, Population Structure(in Ukrainian)
• Regions of Ukraine and their composition(in Ukrainian)
• World Gazetteer: Cities of Ukraine atarchive.today (archived 10 December 2012)

• Lists of cities in Europe
• Cities in Crimea
• Lists of cities in Ukraine

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