Perhaps. I'm not an expert on this subject, though. There is controversy about it and people are allowed to freely debate it (unlike some places).
Was the referendum result the truth? - Ed Roberts - The Compass
Imho, it's not comparable to the Crimea situation. They didn't have army pointing guns at people's heads, I suspect.
I did. I asked some Russian-speaking friends to watch the video and interpret for me. In summary, they concluded Girkin confirmed what Ukrainian authorities were saying. 2) Crimean authorities 'didn't vote' - the results were falsified and there was not a clear majority. They needed the army there and that's what forced local government to vote. So, like I said, (Вытерто. Л.).