In what is best described as blatant disregard of Ukraine’s national sovereignty, Russian troops continue to occupy key sites across the Crimean Peninsula. What’s next: Russia has announced an illegitimate referendum on Sunday giving the people of Crimea a vote to determine whether they want to join the Russian Federation.
Ukraine is an independent country. Its people voted overwhelmingly (90 percent in favor) to declare independence from Russia in 1991. Sunday’s vote is illegal—it is merely Russia’s attempt to justify its imperial annexation of part of a neighboring country.
Moscow will likely engineer the results of the vote anyway. This referendum should not fool anyone, and the international community should recognize Russia’s behavior for what it is: a direct violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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