DISINFO: The UN admits that Crimea is Russian
SUMMARY
The UN recognised Crimea as Russian, naming them the state responsible for supplying water to the peninsula. The official representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Elizabeth Throssell, said that Russia “bears the main responsibility for ensuring access to water for the protected population of Crimea,” thereby recognising the peninsula as the territory of the Russian Federation.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea. Crimea is a part of Ukraine and was illegally annexed by Russia. The UN did not recognise the Russian status of the temporarily occupied Crimea or any Russian representatives from the peninsula. The annexation has been condemned by the UNGA. Moreover, the UN Monitoring Mission in Ukraine insists that, given the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, it is Russia that is responsible for ensuring civilian access to water in Crimea. The North Crimean Canal is the only structure through which Crimea received water from the Dnipro River. After the annexation of the peninsula, the Ukrainian leadership closed the locks of the North Crimean Canal and stated that it would resume the water supply to the peninsula only after the de-occupation of Crimea. No international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced on 27 February 2014 and held on 16 March 2014. 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. The European Union does not recognise Crimea's annexation and continues to condemn it as a violation of international law. EU sanctions continue to be in place against Russia as a consequence of the annexation. See the EU's statement on the sixth anniversary of Crimea annexation. Read a similar case claiming that the UN recognised the Russian status of Crimea.