DISINFO: Since 2014 any financial claims of Kyiv on Crimea are legally void
SUMMARY
Back in the spring of 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law “On the termination of Agreements Related to the Presence of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.” Since then, any financial claims of Kyiv on Crimea are legally void.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea. Crimea was illegally annexed by Moscow based on an illegitimate referendum. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it stated that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 9 December 2019, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea. Therefore any supposed laws, regulations or changes to the status of Crimea or its agreements, made by Russia, are similarly not legal. See previous disinformation narratives alleging that the EU has accepted Crimea's incorporation into Russia and that The Crimean people chose to be with Russia through the democratic procedure.