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DISINFO: Crimea was saved from an armed coup

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

Tags:

illegal annexation Crimea International Law Manipulated elections/referendum Coup Euromaidan

DISINFO: Crimea was saved from an armed coup

SUMMARY

Crimea joined Russia in full accordance with international law.

The referendum has become the only way to protect the interests, dignity and lives of the Crimean population against the background of threats by nationalists and neo-Nazis who came to power as a result of an armed coup against the constitution.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the illegal annexation of Crimea, claiming that it voted to rejoin Russia through a legal referendum after what it claims to be a coup d'état in Ukraine.

The Euromaidan protest was not a coup, but a nation-wide civil protest against former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union and subsequent violation of constitutional rights, such as freedom of expression, the right to protest, and others. See the full debunk of this disinformation claim here.

Crimea is an internationally recognised part of Ukraine. Іn 1997, by signing the Friendship Agreement with Ukraine, Russia also recognised and reconfirmed that Crimea belongs to Ukraine.

The so-called referendum was organised hastily and at gunpoint following the covert invasion of “little green men” and barring impartial observers from entering the peninsula. The referendum offered two choices: join Russia or return to Crimea’s 1992 constitution, which gave the peninsula significant autonomy. Those who favoured Crimea remaining part of Ukraine under the current constitution had no box to check.

No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 17 December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea, which Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised and also admitted proudly that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.

The European Union does not recognise and continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law, which remains a challenge to the international security order. In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. In June 2020, the European Council decided to renew the sanctions introduced in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation until 23 June 2021.

Check previous disinformation narratives in our database alleging that the EU has accepted Crimea's incorporation into Russia and that the Crimean people chose to be with Russia through the democratic procedure; or that Crimea never belonged to Ukraine; or that it is impossible to recognize the annexation of Crimea because it never happened; or that Crimea is a Russian sovereign region.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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