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The West are calling the referendums in eastern Ukraine a sham. Russia says they were legitimate. But either way, even if the referendum massively shows the people of the eastern provinces in Ukraine overwhelmingly chose to join Russia, international law does not allow Russia to unilaterally annex any part of Ukraine. Robbie Sabel a professor of international law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a former chief legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, said that Russia’s claims that it was defending its own territory was therefore illegitimate. He told reporter Arieh O’Sullivan that Moscow was likely motivated to hold a referendum for internal needs for legitimacy at home. (photo: AP) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.