March 21, 2014

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Putin signs the laws completing Russia’s domestic annexation of Crimea

Putin did not sign the accession treaty that day; he signed the two laws ratifying it. Russia's own text said Crimea counted as admitted three days earlier.

Two laws at the Kremlin

On 21 March 2014, after Russia's Federation Council approved the measures, President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 36-FZ ratifying the accession treaty of 18 March and Federal Constitutional Law No. 6-FKZ purporting to admit Crimea and Sevastopol as Russian federal subjects.

The State Duma had approved the constitutional law on 20 March and the Federation Council on 21 March. The ceremony ended with the Russian anthem.

Russia's law treated Crimea as admitted from 18 March, even though the legislation completing that procedure was signed three days later.

Two entities, and one domestic procedure

Russian law designated two constituent entities rather than one administrative district: the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.

The signing completed Russia's internal legal procedure. It did not produce an internationally recognized transfer of sovereignty from Ukraine, which did not consent to it.

Ukraine's Constitutional Court had ruled the Crimean declaration of independence unconstitutional on 20 March, and Ukraine's parliament publicized that ruling on 21 March.

The word "accession" takes a side

Describing this as a lawful territorial accession adopts Russia's framing. Six days later the UN General Assembly affirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity, deemed the 16 March referendum incapable of altering Crimea's status, and called on states not to recognize the change.

By the end of 21 March, Russia was treating Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects under its domestic law and beginning their administrative and legal integration.

The corpus article filed under this date describes none of that: it is an account of Ukraine's accession to the European Union, an unrelated subject.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 10 sources not yet audited

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet and rewritten from that sheet. This article has not yet had an independent model audit. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

The signing date is certain. The event’s legal framing requires care: Russia’s treaty purported to make admission effective on 18 March, while Putin’s signatures on 21 March completed the domestic legislative procedure.
Calling this a lawful territorial “accession” adopts Russia’s position. The UN General Assembly affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity and deemed the referendum incapable of altering Crimea’s status.