Disinfo: The Crimean peninsula was reunified with Russia five years ago

Summary

The Crimean peninsula was reunified with Russia five years ago.

Disproof

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 held on the 16th of March 2014. On the 27th of February 2014, when the so-called referendum 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. A year later Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum. Following the covert invasion of “little green men,” power in Crimea was vested in a makeshift executive headed by Sergey Aksenov, a former mafia enforcer. The new Crimean regime conducted the referendum hastily and at gunpoint, barred impartial observers from entering the peninsula, and instead invited dozens of fringe politicians and activists to “monitor” the procedure, most of them far-right Kremlin loyalists. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, recognised April 17th 2015 that "our soldiers were deployed in Crimea to help the inhabitants express their opinion" (Interfax). Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum. Five years after the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, the EU issued a statement in which it confirms its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and reiterates that it does not recognise and continues to condemn this violation of international law.

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Sputnik Germany (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 150
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/05/2019
  • Outlet language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: illegal annexation, Manipulated elections/referendum, Crimea, Referendum
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Disinfo: Kyiv is not going to fulfil the Minsk Agreements

Ukraine has repeatedly tried to solve this issue by force. This is what led to the Minsk agreements. The words of the commander of the military operation, Sergei Naev, that they ‘would need just one day of military action to liberate the occupied territory’, once again confirm that the Ukrainian side is not going to fulfil the Minsk agreements.

May 16, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Minsk agreements. In the interview with "TSN. Tyzhden", which is being discussed, General Sergiy Naev only answered the journalist's question about how long the liberation of occupied territories would take. At the same time, General Sergiy Naev noted in the same interview that at the moment there are no immediate plans for the returning the occupied territories, and the operation first and foremost has a stabilisation function.

Disinfo: Saudi Arabia takes steps towards recognising Crimea as part of Russia

The Saudi Embassy in Moscow issues visas to Russian Crimean Muslim pilgrims without informing the Ukrainian authorities. Riyadh has de facto recognised the Crimeans as citizens of Russia. Despite the absence of official recognition, the monarchy is changing its attitude towards Crimea and Russia as a whole.

May 16, 2019
Disproof

Saudi Arabia's Embassy in Moscow confirmed that it has been issuing visas for Crimean Tatars willing to make a Hajj, in Moscow, in their Russian passports, since 2014. Since 2015, a Russian intermediary company with offices in Moscow and in Crimea has been operating as a Hajj tour operator. However, Saudi Arabia does not link the issue of visas with the recognition of Crimea. The Council of Muftis of the Russian Federation urged Russian media outlet "Izvestia", which raised the question itself, not to mix politics and religious pilgrimage. The practice of the Saudis issuing visas for pilgrims has been going on for five years. No recent changes showing a different attitude of Saudi Arabia to this issue can be demonstrated. In 2014, Saudi Arabia voted for the UN GA's resolution 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Saudi Arabia did not express any intent to recognise Crimea Russian since then. No direct international flights can go from Crimea to Saudi Arabia, following the ICAO sanctions, and the pilgrims use Russian airports. See more disinformation cases about the illegal annexation of Crimea.

Disinfo: NATO is an offensive alliance

NATO has always been an offensive alliance. (…) NATO is an artificial structure of a badly concealed power politics that wants to occupy the globe. (04:39-4:50)

May 16, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, portraying NATO as a threat to peace and having a belligerent agenda. NATO is a defensive alliance, whose purpose is to protect its member states. Its exercises and military deployments are not directed against Russia – or any other country. NATO is regularly updating the military requirements for civilian infrastructure, at a time when there are increased challenges to security.