DISINFO: Crimea reunited with Russia after a democratic referendum
SUMMARY
The reunification of the Crimea with Russia took place after a referendum in March 2014. 96.77% of the citizens of the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% of the inhabitants of Sevastopol voted in favour of joining the Russian Federation.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the annexation of Crimea claiming that Crimean citizens chose to join Russia through a legal referendum. Crimea is a part of Ukraine and was illegally annexed by Russia. In 2014, Russian troops obliged the parliament of Crimea to organise a referendum, which was illegitimate under international law, and then formally annexed the peninsula and brought it under Russian territorial control. The annexation has been condemned by the UNGA (see the resolution A/RES/68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine). Following the covert invasion by “little green men”, the referendum in Crimea was conducted hastily and at gunpoint, barring impartial observers from entering the peninsula. Therefore, no international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced on the 27th of February 2014, and held on 16th of March 2014. The oft-cited figure of 97% has been contested by the Kremlin’s own Human Rights Council, which estimated that only between 30% and 50% of Crimeans took part in the referendum. A year after the illegal annexation, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum. The European Union does not recognise Crimea's annexation and continues to condemn it as a violation of international law. For the EU statement on the fifth anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea see here. For more cases on Crimea, see here and here. Also, read further debunking by StopFake.