How countries voted on Crimea at the UN in March 2014

What did Russia and Ukraine argue?

Russia's ambassador Vitaly Churkin called the draft "confrontational in nature." Russia argued that Crimea's people had exercised self-determination after an "armed coup" in Kyiv, and cited the 1954 transfer of Crimea to Ukraine. Putin's March 18 speech also cited Kosovo's independence, though Churkin did not raise Kosovo in the Assembly debate.

Ukraine's acting foreign minister Andrii Deshchytsia introduced the text. Ukraine and its supporters said annexation by force broke the UN Charter and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia promised to respect Ukraine's borders. US ambassador Samantha Power said "borders are not mere suggestions." After the vote, Churkin said Russia had "won a moral and a political victory" and "Russia is not isolated."

Why did so many countries abstain?

China's ambassador Liu Jieyi said a vote "will only further complicate the situation." India did not speak. Three weeks earlier, on March 6, India's national security adviser Shivshankar Menon had said the issues should be settled peacefully and that there were "legitimate Russian and other interests involved." Argentina said the text relied on an interpretation of Ukrainian law not "coherent with the principle of non-interference."

Reuters reported that UN diplomats said Russia had warned Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and several African states of retaliation. Moldova voted yes anyway. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan did not vote. Russia's mission said "We never threaten anyone." Israel did not vote. Its foreign ministry was on strike, though analysts saw political caution too.

As of October 2026, only Russia and a handful of allies such as North Korea and Nicaragua recognize Crimea as Russian. A leaked US peace plan of November 2025 proposed recognizing Crimea as Russian "de facto."