KIRA KAY:

Protests in Ukraine led to the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in early 2014, but Russia, unhappy with the loss of Yanukovych, took advantage of the turmoil, reclaiming territory it considered its own.

A referendum was held in March 2014. Russian authorities say 96 percent of Crimean voters supported the annexation.

But Refat Chubarov, the political leader of the Crimean Tatars, believes many Crimean residents were too intimidated by the heavy presence of Russian troops to express their true feelings.

REFAT CHUBAROV, Chairman, The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (through translator): The only ones who spoke out openly against such a fake referendum were Crimean Tatars. We understood that Crimea faced a new problem, a terrible one. Moscow never came to Crimea with good intentions.