There is no evidence for accusations there was an alleged "occupation" of the Crimean peninsula in 2014

There is no evidence for accusations there was an alleged “occupation” of the Crimean peninsula in 2014

Summary

There is no evidence for accusations there was an alleged “occupation” of the Crimean peninsula in 2014

The Crimea had decided to reunite with Russia by referendum in 2014.

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, announced 27th of February 2014, and held on 16th of March 2014.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.

For the EU statement on the fifth anniversary of Crimea annexation see here.

Background:

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.

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.

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Reported in: Issue 148
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/05/2019
Language/target audience: German
Country: Russia, Ukraine
Keywords: illegal annexation, Manipulated elections/referendum, Crimea
Outlet: Sputnik Deutsch

President of Georgia does not willingly express opinions on the separatist regions

The new president of Georgia does not willingly express opinions on issues such as separatism prevailing in a large area of the country; the existence of problems like Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the need to restore the territorial integrity of the country.

May 02, 2019

Disproof

Quite opposite to the claim made in the article, Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili recently stated that Russia's decade long military occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has failed to break the national will to maintain sovereignty and achieve European Union and NATO accession. "It's a victory for Georgia and not for Russia."

“In recent years, we have gone through similar tragedies. We are now experiencing what it means for our country’s territories to be occupied – what it means to have our country’s territorial integrity violated,” Zurabishvili said in her meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Ukraine nearly had a new Chornobyl disaster at a nuclear power plant

The Chornobyl tragedy almost repeated itself in Ukraine. As the local rescuers reported, a fire broke out at the nuclear power plant in Rivne – a transformer caught fire.

April 30, 2019

Disproof

Manipulative headline with exaggerating conclusions. A fire did take place at the Rivne nuclear power plant in Ukraine However, on the official site of the Rivne NPP, it was noted that according to the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), the incident was classified as “zero / out of scale”, that is of little significance in terms of safety.

It was also noted that “there were no violations of the limits and conditions of safe operation. The radiation and ecological status at the RNPP and the adjacent territory has not changed and is within the limits of the current standards”.

Crimea became part of Russia after the referendum following coup d’état

Crimea has become a Russian region after a referendum which took place there in March 2014, when 96.77% of Crimea’s population and 95.6% of Sevastopol’s inhabitants voted to become part of Russia. Crimean authorities organized the referendum after the coup d’état.

April 30, 2019

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on Crimea’s referendum and Maidan.

No international body recognises the so-called referendum held on the 16 March 2014. On the 27 March 2014, 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. 5 years on, the EU re-affirms its unwavering support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.