Political status of Crimea declared their independence from Ukraine as a single united state under the name of "Republic of Crimea". These two entities (Crimea and Sevastopol) were then annexed by Russia, where the Crimean Autonomous Republic became the "Republic of Crimea" as a Russian republic and Sevastopol became a Russian federal city. However, Ukraine and the majority of the international community do not consider the merge, the independence, the referendum, nor the annexation legitimate and still consider both entities as parts of Ukraine. Despite international opinion however, the currency, tax and legal system are all operational under Russian jurisdiction. Ukraine has applied for
Timeline of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation chanted "Putin is our president" and claimed they would refuse to pay further taxes to the state. Russian military convoys were also alleged to be seen in the area. In Kerch, pro-Russian protesters attempted to remove the Ukrainian flag from atop city hall and replace it with the flag of Russia. Over 200 attended waving flags of Russia, orange-and-black St. George and the Russian Unity party. Mayor Oleh Osadchy attempted to disperse the crowd and police eventually arrived to keep the protesters at bay. Osadchy said: "This is the territory of Ukraine, Crimea. Here's a flag of Crimea" but was