In pictures: Russian military build-up near Ukraine

[NickB79]

42. The Confederacy voted to secede from the Union as well in the 1860's

And the Union was fully within it's right to wage war to recover the lost territories.

International law has never recognized the right of a province or state to secede from the parent nation without both parties agreeing to such a dissolution. It HAS recognized the right of the parent nation to label such a separatist movement as illegal and move in to retake the territory by force if necessary.

And that doesn't even touch on the fact that Russia had thousands of Russian troops inside Crimea at the time of the so-called elections (which large portions of the population boycotted to begin with). Ya know, to "ensure order" and all that