Question

The people of Crimea do not want to be part of Ukraine. They were not invaded. They were liberated by Russia.

It was Ukraine Azov Nazis that invaded Donbas. Russia defended Donbas against those Nazis.

Answer 1

This claim is false and not supported by credible evidence. Crimea was invaded and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, when Russian troops seized key infrastructure and occupied the peninsula before a referendum that was widely condemned as illegitimate because it was conducted under military occupation. The United Nations General Assembly affirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity and declared the annexation invalid, and the vast majority of countries continue to recognize Crimea as part if Ukraine, not Russia, the claim that "Azov Nazis invaded Donbas" is misleading and reflects a well documented Russian propaganda narrative. While Ukraine has had some far right volunteer units such as the Azov Battalion, they represent a small fraction of Ukraine's forces and do not control the government or military. Independent reporting shows that the conflict in Donbas began with armed separatist movements backed by Russia, not a Ukrainian "Nazi invasion". Therefore, portraying Russia's actions as a "liberation" and Ukraine's defense as Nazi aggression is inaccurate and contradicts established international findings. 

https://press.un.org/en/2014/ga11493.doc.htm

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/events-leading-up-russias-invasion-ukraine-2022-02-28/

 

Answer 2

This claim is false and is not supported my any credible evidence. Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. When the annexation happened the United Nations refused to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.

https://press.un.org/en/2014/ga11493.doc.htm

Answer 3

Claims that Crimea “was not invaded” and that Russia merely “liberated” the peninsula contradict the findings of major international bodies. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared the 2014 Crimean referendum invalid and reaffirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, noting that Russian forces were already present and exercising control during the vote (UNGA, 2014). Independent monitoring organizations such as the OSCE reported that they were blocked from entering Crimea during the referendum, preventing any credible observation of the process (OSCE, 2014). UN human rights reports further document that Russia’s military presence and rapid takeover of administrative buildings constituted an unlawful occupation under international law (OHCHR, 2014). Although Russia’s leadership claimed overwhelming Crimean support for annexation, these figures were not independently verified and were rejected by the UN (Putin, 2014; UNGA, 2014).

Assertions that “Azov Nazis invaded Donbas” and that Russia merely “defended” the region are also inconsistent with primary-source evidence. UN and OSCE monitoring missions documented that the conflict in Donbas began when armed separatist groups—supported by inflows of fighters and heavy weapons from Russia—seized government buildings and territory in spring 2014 (OHCHR, 2015; OSCE, 2014). While the Azov Battalion did originate with far‑right elements, it was one unit among many within Ukraine’s National Guard and did not initiate the conflict (Biletsky, 2014). The UN General Assembly later condemned Russia’s recognition of the self‑proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “republics” and labeled Russia’s military actions as aggression (UNGA, 2022). Overall, the evidence shows that Russia invaded and occupied Crimea, played a central role in initiating and sustaining the Donbas conflict, and that the claim of “liberation” or “defense against Nazis” is not supported by credible primary sources.

Biletsky, A. (2014). Public statements by the founder of the Azov Battalion. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion (en.wikipedia.org in Bing)

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2014). Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine. https://www.ohchr.org

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2015). Report on the human rights situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. https://www.ohchr.org

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. (2014). OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine reports. https://www.osce.org

Putin, V. (2014). Address by President of the Russian Federation on Crimea. Kremlin. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20603 (en.kremlin.ru in Bing)

United Nations General Assembly. (2014). Resolution 68/262: Territorial integrity of Ukraine. https://documents.un.org

United Nations General Assembly. (2022). Resolution ES‑11/1: Aggression against Ukraine. https://documents.un.org