[quote=Jannah]
I am yet to see anything suggesting the referendum was illegal. Besides, Ukrainian Neo-Nazis(Svoboda is openly fascist) overthrowing the government wasn't exactly "legal" either yet the west let it fly simply because they don't like Russia. This whole situation reeks of hypocrisy.
[/quote]

By Ukrainian Law the referendum to leave the nation and join Russia is an act of defiance against its [url=http://www.president.gov.ua/en/content/chapter01.html]constitution per Article 2[/url]. The Crimea is as lawful a part of Ukraine as such as Maine is to the US. The community would act the same if there was a move to transfer Maine to England or Canada without prior dealing or approval from Washington and between London or Ottawa. And even the Venice Commission - which advises and assists in matters on constitutional law between European bodies - [url=http://24tv.ua/home/showSingleNews.do?venice_commission_does_not_recognize_the_crimea_referendum&objectId=421221&lang=en]recognizes it as illegal against the Ukrainian constitution[/url].

There is also the point that the Russian military was on the ground in Crimea to enforce a certain De Facto control over Crimea during which the parliament prepared for the quickly assembled referendum, and that by their presence the action wasn't as free of influence as other acts of democratic separatism or battle-won separatism.

As well, only the president was kicked out and replaced. The parliament in Kiev is still the same as it was when it started. The Verkhovna Rada is still largely dominated by the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_Regions]Party of Regions[/url] and the mild-mannered [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Ukrainian_Union_%22Fatherland%22]Batkicschyna party[/url]. Svoboda is still a rather small bloc.