DISINFO: Crimean people have expressed their desire to rejoin Russia in a democratic process
SUMMARY
Crimea rejoined Russia after the referendum that took place in March 2014, when 96.77 percent of voters in the Crimean Republic and 95.6 percent of Sevastopol residents voted in favour of joining Russia. This was after the overthrow of the regime in Ukraine in February 2014. The Russian leadership has announced many times that the Crimean people have expressed their desire to join Russia again, during a democratic process that fully responds to the requirements of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the annexation of Crimea claiming that Crimean citizens chose to rejoin Russia through a legal referendum.
No international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced on the 27th of February 2014, and held on 16th of March 2014.
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 Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated 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."
On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it 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 17 December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.
The EU's policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol includes a set of restrictive measures against entities and individuals responsible for actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity. In March 2019 on the fifth anniversary of Crimea's annexation, the EU reiterated its position of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. EU continues to stand in full solidarity with Ukraine, supporting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.