
Ukraine's MFA says that Crimea is not annexed by occupied / REUTERS
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has commented on a publication by BBC News Russian where the Russia-occupied cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol were added to the list of Russian cities.
Spokesperson for Ukraine's MFA Oleh Nikolenko wrote about this on Twitter.
"@bbcrussian, don’t promote Russian false narratives. Sevastopol and Simferopol have never been Russian cities. #Crimea is not annexed but occupied. International law matters. #CrimeaIsUkraine #Navalny," he tweeted on January 24.
.@bbcrussian, don’t promote Russian false narratives. Sevastopol and Simferopol have never been Russian cities. #Crimea is not annexed but occupied. International law matters. #CrimeaIsUkraine#Navalnypic.twitter.com/VhZk22xUmr
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) January 24, 2021
The publication by BBC News Russia listed the cities where rallies in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were held. In particular, it included the Russia-occupied cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in the list of cities in the Russian Federation.
Screenshot from twitter.com/OlegNikolenko_
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Russian occupation of Crimea
- Russia took control of Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held for Crimeans to decide on accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities reported that allegedly 96.77% of the Crimean population had voted for joining Russia.
- On March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in the Kremlin.
- The West did not recognize the so-called annexation in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced.
- Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began.
Author: UNIAN