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2014 annexation of Crimea |
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International reactions to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation have largely been condemnatory of Russia's actions, supportive of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and supportive of finding a quick end to the crisis. [1] The United States and the European Union responded by enacting sanctions against Russia for its role in the crisis, and urged Russia to withdraw. [2] Russia accused the United States and the EU of funding and directing the revolution and retaliated to the sanctions by imposing its own.
The International Workers' Association, an international group of anarcho-syndicalists, released a statement on behalf of its Russian section, that was also endorsed by other "internationalists" in Ukraine, Moldova, the United States and elsewhere, that condemned the crisis as a conflict between two "imperialist cliques" and concluded: "We will not succumb to nationalist intoxication. To hell with their state and 'nations,' their flags and offices! This is not our war, and we should not go on it, paying with our blood their palaces, bank accounts and the pleasure to sit in soft chairs of authorities. And if the bosses in Moscow, Kiev, Lviv, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Simferopol start this war, our duty is to resist it by all available means!" [165]
The Fourth International, an international group of Trotskyist communist parties, approved a resolution that expressed support for the Maidan Revolution and condemned Russian actions in Ukraine, while also expressing mistrust in the new government of Ukraine. The resolution also asked for immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, opposition of anti-social policies and neutrality of the Ukrainian state. [166]
In March 2014, Mikhail Gorbachev defended the Crimean status referendum that led to Russia's annexation of Crimea. [167] He noted that while Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954, when both were part of the Soviet Union, the Crimean people had not been asked at the time, whereas in the 2014 referendum they had. [168] After sanctions were placed on Russia as a result of the annexation, Gorbachev spoke out against them. [169] His comments led to Ukraine banning him in 2016 from entering the country for five years. [170] Gorbachev held a "complex and contradictory view" regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War, shaped by his belief (shared by most of his political generation in Russia) on the borders of the former Soviet Union and on the closeness of the Ukrainian and Russian people. [171] The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started in the last few months of Gorbachev's life, when he was suffering from a longtime illness that would eventually lead to his death. [171] According to his long-time interpreter Pavel Palazhchenko, Gorbachev was "shocked and bewildered" by the invasion, with close associates often being "struck" by how "traumatised" Gorbachev was by the events in Ukraine. [171] According to Palazhchenko, despite Gorbachev's belief that Ukraine and Russia were intermingled peoples, he would never consider waging war to restore the borders of the former Soviet Union, to which he presided between 1985 and 1991. [171] Gorbachev died on 30 August 2022, six months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was refused a state funeral by the Russian authorities, with President Vladimir Putin refusing to attend the low-key funeral service because of a supposed "busy schedule". [172]
Between April and June 2016, the regional councils of Italy's northern regions Lombardy, Liguria and Veneto adopted non-binding resolutions proposed by the populist right-wing Lega Nord party on recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and calling for the lift of international sanctions against Russia. [173] The regional councils eventually revoked the resolutions in 2022 after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. [174]
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)PLENARY SESSION Press release – External relations ... Ukraine's new leaders should distance themselves from extremists and avoid provocation that might fuel "separatist moves", MEPs warn, adding that they should respect the rights of minorities in the country, including the right to use Russian and other minority languages. MEPs also condemn a recent attack on the headquarters of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
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