DISINFO: Crimea's return to the Russian motherland was based on a popular referendum
SUMMARY
Moscow has repeatedly indicated that the return of Crimea to the motherland of Russia was based on the results of a popular referendum organised on the peninsula in March 2014.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea. No international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced 27th of February and held less than three weeks later.
On March 27th, 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. 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, of which some 50-60% favoured secession.
See here for the EU statement on the sixth anniversary of Crimea annexation.
Read similar cases claiming that Crimean people have expressed their desire to rejoin Russia in a democratic process and that Crimea never belonged to Ukraine.
[Note: This disinformation claim appeared in the same article as the claim that Moscow did not interfere in the armed conflict in Donbas.]