7 years ago Russia illegally occupied the Crimean peninsula after a military intervention that took place in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.
On this day, a so-called “referendum” took place which the Kremlin called the “expression of the Crimeans’ will”. The referendum was declared invalid by the United Nations General Assembly resolution but that did not stop the Kremlin from declaring Crimea a part of Russia.
What led up to and accompanied this violation of international law were extensive information operations aimed at promoting hatred towards Ukraine while portraying the aggression as peaceful.