The UK Government has issued a statement on the 10th Anniversary of the Russian annexation of Crimea.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said:

Ten years ago Russia illegally, and unacceptably sought to annex Crimea. An action which, eight years later was used to launch its full-scale invasion into Ukraine.

Today, Russia continues to deprive Ukrainians in Crimea of their liberty, waging a brutal and systematic campaign of human rights abuses and violations. This is unacceptable, and Russia must be held to account.

We want to be clear that the UK will never recognise Russia’s illegal claims to the region, or to any Ukrainian territory and that we will continue to do all we can to stop Putin’s war machine, and support Ukraine in their fight, for as long as it takes. Photo by J29, Wikimedia commons.