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Kiev’s declaring ‘Crimea Occupation Day’ has nothing to do with real situation — Kremlin

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier signed a decree declaring Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol on February 26

Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Ukraine’s decision to declare a "Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol" has nothing to do with the real state of things and ignores the reasons why Crimea’s residents opted to reunify with Russia, Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier signed a decree declaring Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol on February 26.

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Kremlin ironic about Kiev’s plans to build ‘garden city’ for displaced persons from Crimea

"[The Kremlin’s] reaction [to this decree] is quite clear. I think Crimeans themselves can better state what the reason for their reunification with Russia was," Peskov said. "We totally disagree with this wording and think that it has nothing to do with the real situation around Crimea."

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification treaties on March 18, 2014. The documents were ratified by Russia’s Federal Assembly, or bicameral parliament, on March 21.

Despite the absolutely convincing results of the referendum, Ukraine has been refusing to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.

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