SEVASTOPOL – Crimea kicked off celebrations that will see fireworks and concerts on Monday to mark a year since a controversial vote to join Russia that the West blasted as an illegal takeover.The annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula however won President Vladimir Putin huge acclaim at home and Moscow is pulling out all the stops to mark the first anniversary of the hastily-arranged referendum in which nearly 97 per cent of Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia.The red, white and blue Russian flag fluttered throughout the peninsula, and in the port city of Sevastopol a …read more
Source: AsiaOne
