Sixth Anniversary Of The Annexation Of Crimea

SEVASTOPOL, UKRAINE - MARCH 18: Six years on from the day Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty of accession to absorb Crimea in the Russian Federation on March 18, 2020 in Sevastopol, Ukraine. Pro-Russian militias block the entrence of an Ukrainian military base as Russian forces without insigna invide Crimea on March 6, 2014 in Sevastopol, Ukraine. In a latest statement, the Council of the European Union said: "Since the illegal annexation by the Russian Federation, the human rights situation in the Crimean peninsula has significantly deteriorated. Residents of the peninsula face systematic restrictions of fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression, religion or belief and association and the right to peaceful assembly. The increasing militarisation of the peninsula continues to negatively impact the security situation in the Black Sea region. In violation of international humanitarian law, Russian citizenship and conscription in the armed forces of the Russian Federation have been imposed on Crimean residents.". The UN General Assembly reaffirmed non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)