DISINFO: Russia does not occupy Ukrainian territory
SUMMARY
Russia does not occupy Ukrainian territory. The words ‘occupation’ or ‘annexation’ are completely inapplicable to the Crimea – neither de facto nor de jure. The self-proclaimed people’s republics of Luhansk and Donetsk were repelled by Kyiv and everything that happens in the region is a consequence of the policies of Ukraine’s current leadership.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the Russian aggression in Ukraine and on the illegal annexation of Crimea. Russia started the war against Ukraine in 2014, violating Ukraine's territorial integrity by the illegal annexation of Crimea, supporting and arming separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine. Crimea is a part of Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia. In 2014, the Russian troops forced the parliament of Crimea to organise an illegal referendum and then conducted the annexation of it that has been condemned by the UN General Assembly (see the resolution A/RES/68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine). The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “information available suggests 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 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”. The European Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and continues to condemn this violation of international law, and state that Russia’s illegal actions remain a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all States. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". Also, at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, NATO leaders condemned in the strongest terms Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Moreover, in 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine and Russian involvement in the occupation of Crimea.