The Russian leadership initially denied the participation of the Russian military in the seizure of the Crimean peninsula, but soon stated that they arrived in Crimea to “ensure the free expression of the will of the Crimeans” at the so-called referendum on March 16. Ukraine, most countries of the world and the UN recognized the referendum as illegal. Date February 20, 2014 indicated on the departmental award of the Russian Ministry of Defense - the medal "For the Return of Crimea".