<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimea" id="mwAU8" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Crimea">Crimea</a> votes in a controversial <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_status_referendum" id="mwAVA" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="2014 Crimean status referendum">referendum</a> to secede from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine" id="mwAVE" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> to join Russia.<sup about="#mwt174" class="mw-ref reference" data-mw='{"name":"ref","attrs":{},"body":{"id":"mw-reference-text-cite_note-33"}}' id="cite_ref-33" rel="dc:references" typeof="mw:Extension/ref"><a href="./March_16#cite_note-33" id="mwAVI" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 33;"><span class="mw-reflink-text" id="mwAVM">[33]</span></a></sup>
<span class="mw-reference-text" id="mw-reference-text-cite_note-33"><cite about="#mwt171" class="citation news cs1" id="mwCx8"><a class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26606097" id="mwCyA" rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow">"Crimea referendum: Voters 'back Russia union'<span class="cs1-kern-right" id="mwCyE"></span>"</a>. <i id="mwCyI"><a href="./BBC_News" id="mwCyM" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="BBC News">BBC News</a></i>. 16 March 2014<span class="reference-accessdate" id="mwCyQ">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap" id="mwCyU">12 September</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span about="#mwt171" class="Z3988" id="mwCyY" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=BBC+News&amp;rft.atitle=Crimea+referendum%3A+Voters+%27back+Russia+union%27&amp;rft.date=2014-03-16&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-europe-26606097&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMarch+16"></span></span>