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A city of federal importance (Russian: город федерального значения, gorod federalnogo znacheniya) or federal city in Russia is a city that has a status of both an inhabited locality and a constituent federal subject.
The Russian Federation is divided into eighty-five federal subjects, three of which are federal cities. Two federal subjects, including the federal city of Sevastopol, are in the disputed region of Crimea which was annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014 but is recognised as Ukrainian territory by most of the international community.
2014 developments
On 18 March 2014, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol were annexed by the Russian Federation, and Sevastopol was designated a city of federal significance. The annexation is unrecognized by the Ukrainian government and by most other countries, and they therefore consider the entirety of the Crimean peninsula, including Sevastopol to be a part of Ukraine.