The Crimea referendum was held on 16 March 2014 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol following the Russian military takeover of the peninsula in late February and early March 2014. Voters were asked whether Crimea should join the Russian Federation as a federal subject, or restore the 1992 Crimean constitution and remain part of Ukraine. Notably, no option to retain the status quo under the 1998 Ukrainian constitutional arrangement was offered.
Organizers reported that roughly 96% of voters backed accession to Russia on a turnout of about 83%, though these figures were rejected as implausible by Ukrainian authorities and most Western observers. Two days later, on 18 March 2014, President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty of accession with Crimean leaders, and Russia formally annexed the territory.
The vote took place under the presence of armed Russian forces and so-called "self-defense" units, without international monitoring by the OSCE/ODIHR, and on extremely short notice — the date was moved forward twice. Ukraine's Constitutional Court declared the referendum unconstitutional on 14 March 2014, and the interim government in Kyiv refused to recognize the result.
On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 ("Territorial integrity of Ukraine") by 100 votes to 11, with 58 abstentions, affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity and declaring the referendum invalid. The European Union, United States, Canada, and others responded with sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in the annexation. A draft UN Security Council resolution condemning the vote was vetoed by Russia on 15 March 2014, with China abstaining.
The referendum is widely cited in international law scholarship as a contested case study on self-determination versus territorial integrity, and is frequently compared — usually as a counter-example — to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence and the ICJ's 2010 advisory opinion on that matter. Most UN member states continue to treat Crimea as Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation.
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On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 68/262 by 100–11 with 58 abstentions, declaring the Crimea referendum invalid and reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity.