Moskovskyi Komsomolets and other Russian media featured stories based on an American magazine article claiming that the US is telling Kyiv to give up on returning Crimea to Ukrainian control. Crimea is not Ukraine and Kyiv has no chance of returning the peninsula, declared Moskovskyi Komsomolets, citing Doug Bandow’s article Settle Crimea with a referendum in the National Interest bi-monthly magazine.

Bandow’s article was spun by Russian media as representing the US position. Crimea will not be Ukraine declared RIA Novosti, Crimea has joined Russia forever, hailed NTV, Kyiv has no chance, National Interest’s experts explain why Crimea will never become Ukrainian, blared a headline from the Russian Defense Ministry television channel Zvezda. News Front, Dni.ru, Vzglyad, Versia, Gazeta.ru all faithfully followed suit.

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