It was March 16, 2014, and Crimea was voting for its future. The Ukrainian peninsula, with a pro-Russian majority, would decide whether to join the country led by Vladimir Putin. The political conflict had begun months before, when citizens of the peninsula protested for Ukraine’s rapprochement with the European Union.
Some regional governments proposed holding a separatist referendum and finally it was carried out on March 16 with the aim of annexing Russia. 93% of voters said ‘yes’ to Russia’s annexation in a referendum with a historic turnout of more than 70%, and without incident.
In the main video of this news we remember how the journalist Alberto Sicilia explained from Simferopol how that day was lived in Crimea. Ukrainian and Crimean security forces were monitoring for incidents. The next day, March 17, 2014, the results showed the landslide victory: Crimean citizens were leaving the kyiv government to embrace the Russia of Vladimir Putin.
The peninsula woke up with a new currency, the ruble, and two hours ahead on the clock, while the celebrations with Russian and Soviet flags, while a pro-European minority looked with concern to the future. Now, eight years later, some international leaders, such as Boris Johnson, consider it a “terrible mistake” to allow Putin to “get away with it” in 2014.
*Ephemeris: laSexta is commemorating the anniversary of some of the most relevant historical events.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
