@edwardehunt@maddenifico let’s be real—if someone is feeding you ‘exclusive information’ that contradicts NATO, the UN, and every major intelligence report, they didn’t give you secret insights. They manipulated you.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico When you want to provide me with valid sources for your claims instead of personal anecdotes, I’ll be happy to share personal anecdotes to answer your questions. But until then, facts don’t require a meeting with Putin to be true.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico Russia sent troops into Crimea before the referendum, which is why the vote was condemned globally. If Ukraine ‘started it,’ why did Russia need unmarked troops, force a rushed referendum under military occupation, and get sanctioned for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty?
@edwardehunt@maddenifico Being ‘there’ doesn’t change the fact that international law, independent reports, and even Russia’s own timeline contradict your claim. The UN, NATO, the EU, and even Ukraine’s previous agreements with Russia (like the Budapest Memorandum) all recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine
@edwardehunt@maddenifico This is why the UN, US, EU, and NATO all rejected it as illegitimate.
Also, the comparison to Canada and US elections doesn’t hold-Ukraine legally owned Crimea, and its sovereignty was recognized by international law, including the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which Russia signed.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico Because they were there. Russian troops were already present in Crimea before the referendum—they seized key infrastructure, surrounded Ukrainian military bases, and effectively controlled the region. By the time the vote happened, it was under Russian military occupation.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico If you were an intelligence analyst, you’d know that the US government’s official position has always been that Crimea’s annexation was illegal.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico No credible international observers oversaw the referendum. The Obama administration didn’t ‘oversee’ it, and the UN explicitly rejected its legitimacy. Crimea was recognized as part of Ukraine under international law, and Russia’s annexation violated the Budapest Memorandum.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico by Ukraine, the United Nations, and many Western nations. Russia formally annexed Crimea, but most of the international community still considers it Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation.
@edwardehunt@maddenifico In 2014, following Ukraine’s Euromaidan revolution and the removal of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russia seized Crimea. A controversial referendum was held in Crimea, in which a reported majority voted to join Russia, but the vote was widely condemned as illegitimate