SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — With thousands of heavily armed Russian troops occupying this perennially embattled peninsula, an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted on Sunday to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, resolutely carrying out a public referendum that Western leaders had declared illegal and vowed to punish with economic sanctions.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
New York Times: Crimea votes to secede from Ukraine as Russian troops stand watch
Berkut riot police stand near the Lenin Square in Simferopol, watching over the crowd on March 16.
