DISINFO: Joining Russia saved Crimeans from bloodshed
SUMMARY
Life has shown that Crimeans who voted at the 2014 referendum were right. Unlike in Ukraine, residential areas in Crimea are not shelled, journalists are not killed, Nazi marches are not held and people are not prohibited from speaking their language.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea.
No international body has recognised the so-called Crimea referendum, announced on 27 February 2014, and held on 16 March 2014. 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 European Union does not recognise and continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law, which remains a challenge to the international security order. In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. In June 2021, the European Council decided to renew the sanctions introduced in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation until 23 June 2022.
The claim pretends that the rest of Ukraine is dominated by Nazi-ideology and prohibition of the Russian language. Both these tropes are classic pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives.
See related examples of disinformation claims here.