"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable" - Putin

In March 2014, following a government coup in Kiev, Crimeans voted to secede from the Ukrainian state. Around 84% of eligible Crimeans voted in the referendum, with 97% in favour of unification with the Russian Federation. Sevastopol, a city with a longstanding history of Russian military battles and victories, had a 90% turnout, where people voted 97% in favour.

Crimea became a part of the Russian Empire following the Turko-Russian war of 1783, ending the 300-year rule by the Ottomans. The next key date in the debacle is that Crimea was gifted to the Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev.

Kruschev did not have sufficient quorum members in the Supreme Soviet (USSR parliament) for the decision to be voted on legitimately. It was given away by decree of one man. Admittedly, Kruschev couldn't have foreseen that one day the Soviet Union may not be one unified territory and that historic Russian naval city, Sevastopol, may end up in NATO disposition.

Accusations of “annexation” quickly replaced principles of legal rights to self-determination in mainstream media. This right is enshrined in the UN Charter and other instruments of international law.

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