Crimea chooses to join Russia

With more than half of the ballots counted in a referendum, an overwhelming 95.5% of voters in Crimea opted to leave Ukraine and join former political master Russia. The West has branded the referendum “illegal,” with White House Spokesman Jay Carney saying it is contrary to Ukraine’s constitution. The international community, he said, “will not recognize the results of a poll administered under threats of violence and intimidation from a Russian military intervention that violates international law.” The vote will result in a redrawing of the European map, the most radical to happen since Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008.


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More details are on CNN.