Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the Crimean region Mikhail Sheremet appreciated the words of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky about Crimea and Donbass. He announced his opinion on Saturday, April 17, in an interview with RIA Novosti.
“Zelensky continues his dirty tricks and nasty things in relation to Crimea. He can’t do anything, so now he decided to choose a dastardly method of intimidation. Will not wait. Crimea today is one of the most prosperous and attractive regions, as is spoken about, including by representatives of the international community, ”Sheremet said.
The deputy noted that all Zelensky’s forecasts about Ukraine and Donbass will return to Ukraine.
“Let him think about it. You cannot conduct such a misanthropic policy towards other people. Residents of Donbass need to throw off the shackles of Ukrainian stagnation and degradation and take a course towards development, as Crimea once did, ”he added.
On the eve of April 16, the President of Ukraine said that Donbass and Crimea can expect a future comparable to the “exclusion zone in Chernobyl” or even worse. The President of Ukraine added that residents of these regions will be able to avoid such a future if they begin to consider themselves Ukrainians.
The next day, the head of the Ukrainian community of Crimea, Anastasia Gridchina, in response to Zelensky’s words, urged the president of Ukraine to look at what he had turned his country into. She stressed that Zelensky had done enough for the people of Ukraine to flee to Russia and Europe in search of a better life.
In mid-March, data from a telephone survey by VTsIOM were published. According to him, about 90% of Crimean residents support the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. According to the general director of the center, Valery Fedorov, the level of negative assessments and voting for the return of Crimea to Ukraine is minimal (3% each). Also, the Crimeans assessed their level of social well-being. According to the survey, 82% of respondents are more likely to be satisfied with their lives, and only 17% spoke about the opposite. Fedorov noted that on average in Russia the indicators are lower – only 64% are satisfied with their lives.
In 2014, following a referendum, Crimea became part of Russia. During it, 96.77% of the inhabitants of the peninsula and 95.6% of the voters of Sevastopol voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation. Kiev still considers the region to be its temporarily occupied territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that the vote was held in accordance with international law and the UN Charter, and that the issue of Crimea was “finally closed.”
Since 2014, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’etat and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict. The issues of its settlement are being discussed in the “Minsk” and “Normandy” formats – with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany.