DISINFO: Ukraine sold Crimea to the West
SUMMARY
Zelenskyy sold Crimea to Western companies... It is not surprising that there are those who risked selling Russian Crimea. Zelenskyy and company have nothing to lose, it is surprising that there were those who risked buying it.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea and an attempt to distort the historical truth about the XVIII century Russian incorporation of Crimea.
The claim was made in the context of the international summit of the Crimean Platform. The conference participants discussed the economic recovery of Crimea after the de-occupation of the peninsula.
The Crimean Platform is an international consultative and coordinating format aims to increase the effectiveness of international response to the ongoing occupation of Crimea and mounting security threats, respond to growing security threats, increase international pressure on the Kremlin, prevent further human rights violations and protect victims of the occupation regime, and achieve the main goal – de-occupation of Crimea and its peaceful return to Ukraine.
At the 2023 summit, 63 states and international organisations were represented. Among other topics, the total isolation and militarization of Crimea, which was created by Russia, was discussed. Since 2014, the historical, cultural and economic ties of Crimea have been destroyed not only with mainland Ukraine, but also with the rest of the world. This led to the oppression of the basic freedoms of the population of Crimea by Russia, the economic decline of the region and the decline in the standard of living of its population. Ukraine plans to restore and reintegrate Crimea within the framework of a unified state regional policy with the involvement of foreign investors. This is exactly what was discussed at the summit.
Dozens of foreign and Ukrainian companies have already expressed their readiness to overcome the consequences of the Russian occupation. All these companies do not intend to “buy Crimea”, but to restore the infrastructure destroyed by Russia: from grocery stores and pharmacies to the integration of Crimea into the European energy system and the restoration of transport links with the world.
See previous disinformation narratives in our database alleging that Crimean people chose to be with Russia; that Crimea’s reunification with Russia was legal; that Ukraine was led by nationalist extremists and fascists; or that Crimea never belonged to Ukraine or that Crimea is a Russian sovereign region.