Author(s)

Hanjing Yue

Law School of Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu, China.

Crimea’s independence from Ukraine and merging with Russia is an incident of great geopolitical significance after the Cold War, which took place against the background of the long-term geopolitical struggle. Russia used force in the incident, which Russia tried to justify mainly with grounds of protecting its nationals and having been invited by both president Yanukovych and the local government of Crimea. But the grounds cannot prove that Russia’s use of force accords with the exceptions to the principle of prohibition of the use of force addressed in the UN Charter or conforms to the already disputed relevant principles of “intervention by invitation” and so Russia’s use of force is illegal. This article presents a comprehensive and deep analysis of the illegality of Russia’s use of force in the event and therefore, will not only provide convincing legal grounds for the illegality of Crimea’s independence from Ukraine and incorporation into Russia, but also be helpful for assessing the future development of strategic relations between Russia and the west in particular and even between powers in general.

Crimea, Russia, Ukraine, Use of Force

Yue, H. (2016) Crimea’s Independence from Ukraine and Incorporation into Russia: The Unlawfulness of Russia’s Use of Force. Beijing Law Review, 7, 181-191. doi: 10.4236/blr.2016.73019.