Crimea to Hold Referendum over Russian Control

Crimea announced today that it will hold a referendum on March 16. On that day, Crimeans will take the polls and decide whether or not it will remain part of the new Ukraine or become part of the nation that currently occupies the peninsula, Russia. This announcement was preceded by a 78-0 vote in the Crimean parliament in support of joining Russia. The temporary government of Ukraine has declared that the referendum is unconstitutional, but seeing as Russia has troops occupying Crimea, Ukraine can currently do little to prevent the referendum from taking place. Regardless, the interim president of Ukraine said that the interim government is actively working to stop the referendum. United States president Barack Obama has also said that the referendum violates international law.

Moreover, observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were prevented from entering Crimea, says the Polish defense minister. These observers were stopped by unidentified men wearing army fatigues.

The European Union threatened to freeze economic assets to Russia if it's troops remain in Crimea. Russia had previously warned that it would retaliate against any sanctions. It is unclear what effect the potential situation would have as both the European Union and Russia have billions of dollars invested in each other.

Ukraine has set May 25 as an election date after President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from office by the Ukrainian parliament. If the referendum takes place, then Crimea could already be part of Russia.