>But, you are ignoring the fact that Crimea did not decide to secede It absolutely did. The 90% vote matched our subsequent polling taken a year later - almost

>But, you are ignoring the fact that Crimea did not decide to secede It absolutely did. The 90% vote matched our subsequent polling taken a year later - almost exactly and the western pollsters certainly didn't use little green men. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/03/20/one-year-after-russia-annexed-crimea-locals-prefer-moscow-to-kiev/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/03/20/one-year-a... Much like in Kosovo the presence of the superpower's troops simply allowed the vote to happen. Ukraine makes no secret of the fact that it doesn't want a free and fair vote to be run (it's "unconstitutional" to have a vote, they argue North Korearly) and neither do we. That, along with the public bitchslap Elon Musk got for suggesting a vote, highlights the dim view the west takes on allowing democracy in the south and east of Ukraine.