Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has commented on a publication by BBC News Russian where the Russia-occupied cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol were added to the list of Russian cities.
Spokesperson for Ukraine's MFA Oleh Nikolenko wrote about this on Twitter.
"@bbcrussian, don’t promote Russian false narratives. Sevastopol and Simferopol have never been Russian cities. #Crimea is not annexed but occupied. International law matters. #CrimeaIsUkraine #Navalny," he tweeted on January 24.
.@bbcrussian, don’t promote Russian false narratives. Sevastopol and Simferopol have never been Russian cities. #Crimea is not annexed but occupied. International law matters. #CrimeaIsUkraine#Navalnypic.twitter.com/VhZk22xUmr
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) January 24, 2021
The publication by BBC News Russia listed the cities where rallies in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were held. In particular, it included the Russia-occupied cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in the list of cities in the Russian Federation.
Read alsoAlmost 3,300 people detained during rallies in support of Navalny in Russia
Russian occupation of Crimea
- Russia took control of Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held for Crimeans to decide on accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities reported that allegedly 96.77% of the Crimean population had voted for joining Russia.
- On March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in the Kremlin.
- The West did not recognize the so-called annexation in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced.
- Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began.
