--- description: The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Thursday calling the referendum that opened the door to Russia’s annexation of Crimea illegal. title: UN General Assembly Says Crimea Referendum Was Illegal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Nations](/tag/united-nations/) ## United Nations Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # UN General Assembly: Crimea Referendum Was Illegal  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 27, 2014 4:49 PM CUT  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 27, 2014 4:49 PM CUT The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday saying the referendum that opened the door to Russia’s annexation of Crimea was [illegal](http://time.com/40433/u-n-general-assembly-votes-yes-on-ukraine-unity/ "undefined"), the Associated Press reports. The non-binding UN document passed with 100 members in favor, 11 opposed and 58 abstentions, sending a strong signal that the vote lacked international support. The Ukrainian-sponsored resolution, which also affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, was similar to a document Russia vetoed in the United Nations Security Council earlier this month. There is no veto in the General Assembly. \[[AP](http://time.com/40433/u-n-general-assembly-votes-yes-on-ukraine-unity/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/40497/un-crimea-russia-ukraine-general-assembly/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/40497/un-crimea-russia-ukraine-general-assembly/"},"headline":"UN General Assembly: Crimea Referendum Was Illegal","datePublished":"2014-03-27T16:49:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:00:26.852Z","description":"The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday that said Crimea's Russian-backed referendum to secede from Ukraine was a violation of the country's territorial integrity and international law","url":"https://time.com/40497/un-crimea-russia-ukraine-general-assembly/","keywords":["United Nations","Ukraine","russia","Crimea","ukraine crisis"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-nations/","name":"United Nations"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/40497/un-crimea-russia-ukraine-general-assembly/","name":"UN General Assembly: Crimea Referendum Was Illegal"}}]}] ```