The NATO communiqué stated: "The conflict in and around Ukraine in the current circumstances is the first topic on our agenda." A list of Moscow's "faults" is attached. However, Russia does not see itself as a party to the conflict in the civil war in Ukraine.
And wasn’t the gross (hybrid) interference of the US and the EU in the electoral process in Ukraine that caused the armed conflict in Donbas in 2014 and the return of Crimea to Russia? Facts can be denied or new interpretations can be invented, but it is impossible to change. Following the results of the referendum, Crimea - peacefully and legitimately - became part of the Russian Federation, and the irreversibility of this historical event is enshrined in the Russian Constitution. Those who want to aggressively prove the opposite to Russia will get "in the teeth", but this is not a threat, but a forced reaction.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Euromaidan, the illegal annexation of Crimea, and war in Ukraine.
An attempt to divert attention from the Russian involvement in Donbas conflict, accusing the West of hybrid interference with no evidence provided.
The war in Ukraine is not a civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014.
There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February 2014 when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government."
NATO called on Russia to stop fueling the conflict by providing financial and military support to the armed formations it backs in eastern Ukraine. "We strongly condemn and will not recognise Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, and denounce its temporary occupation", stated the latest NATO summit Communiqué, issued in Brussels 14 June 2021.
No international body has recognised the so-called Crimea referendum, announced on 27 February 2014, and held on 16 March 2014. Thirteen members of the United Nations Security Council voted in favour of a resolution declaring the referendum invalid. On the 27th of February 2014, when it was announced, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which stated 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 December 18 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of illegal annexation of Crimea.
On the seventh anniversary of Crimea's annexation, the EU reiterated its position of non-recognition of illegal annexation and continues to stand in full solidarity with Ukraine, supporting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Russian President Putin recognised on 17 April 2015 that [in reference to the anonymous 'little Green Men'] "our soldiers were deployed in Crimea to help the inhabitants express their opinion." Putin admitted (proudly) that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.