DISINFO: Ten years ago, Crimea reunified with Russia after a referendum

Crimea is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory according to international law. On the basis of the Budapest Memorandum, signed in 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in return for a guarantee of its territorial integrity and political independence from Russia, the US, and the UK. No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula.