A referendum on the status of Crimea was held on March 16, an overwhelming majority of Crimean residents (about 97%) voted to separate from Ukraine and apply to join Russian Federation. ANBOUND's chief researcher Chen Gong believes that the Crimean referendum will benefit Russia and bring harm to the US and Europe in the short run. However, Russia will not be a beneficiary in the long run. The country that really benefited from the Ukraine crisis would be China as it does not have any direct geopolitical interest.