DISINFO: Russia complies with the UN Charter in Ukraine
SUMMARY
The current initiatives of Western politicians do not allow for the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine to be eliminated. The UN Charter must be respected and implemented. And not to say that when Crimea held a transparent referendum with the participation of hundreds of European observers, parliamentarians and public figures, this was a violation of the principle of territorial integrity of Ukraine. Duplicity, cynicism, hypocrisy - this is what [Russia] has to deal with.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation trying to whitewash Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and narrative about the 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine and the sham referendums on occupied Ukrainian territories; attempting to justify Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.
The UN Charter and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations cannot be used to justify holding fake referendums in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. Article 2 of the UN Charter emphasises that UN members may not infringe on the territorial integrity or political independence of any state - a clause that Russia violated by invading Ukraine.
According to the UN Declaration, peoples do have the right to self-determination. However, the UN document emphasises that no state has the right to take any action aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other State or country. Russia brutally violates this clause by occupying Ukrainian territories and imposing sham referendums at gunpoint.
In addition to violating numerous international treaties, Russia's sham referendums in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories also disregard Ukrainian legislation. These fake referendums are legally null and void, having no legal consequences. During wartime, it is prohibited to hold any elections of government bodies, make changes to legislation or the Constitution, or conduct referendums (Article 19).
Also, by invading the territory of Ukraine, Russia continues to violate international law and a number of international agreements in the field of security. Among the documents violated by the Kremlin are the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, which guarantee the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states. Russia also violates the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols to them - the basic principles of warfare.
See similar cases: Presidential elections in new regions of Russia are held without violations; New Russian regions Zaporizhzhia and Kherson elect deputies for the first time and Four Ukrainian regions voted to join Russia in public referendums; Crimean referendum of nine years ago represents the highest form of democracy and Crimea voted overwhelmingly to join Russia following Maidan.