Russia’s annexation of the Crimea Law Essay Research

RUSSIA’S ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA
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Russia’s annexation of Crimea
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 significantly divided opinion on whether international law was broken. In justifying its action, Russia cited the need to protect its citizens from threats. It is clear that Russia violated international law in the annexation of Crimea and this shows that international law, as well as international institutes can do little to restrain states from waging war against one another. On the other hand, Russia’s argument of self-defense may indicate its actions were still within the limits of international law.
In the UN Charter Article 2(4), states are prohibited from carrying out threats or use of force against other states (Deeks, 2014). In this regard, when a state transfers a significant number of its armed forces into another without its consent, it is against the provisions of the UN Charter. According to Dereks (2014), while the number of Russian troops in Crimea could not be easily determined, at least five armored cars, a hundred troops, and ten trucks were sent by Russia. Major roads of Crimea as well as government buildings were taken over by the Russian government (Deeks, 2014). It is evident that Russia used military force to take control of the territory. In this regard, the Ukrainian government was deprived of the authority over a key portion of its country. It is deducible that the action of the Russian government in Crimea amounted to the use of force. As pointed out by Weller (2014), a 1994 UN definition has it that using armed forces against a territory while contravening an agreement in place is regarded as “aggression.” Given these violations, it is safe to say that international law and institutions have little or no power in preventing states from waging war against one another.
Russia had unequivocally recognized Ukraine and its borders and therefore, its annexation of Crimea represented an infringement of several agreements. As demonstrated by Weller (2014), the Budapest memorandum of 1994, the 1991 Alma Ata declaration, and the 1997 agreement that allowed the stationing of Russian ships in Crimean ports, all confirmed the...