Timeline of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation March 3 after the announcement of partial military mobilization in Ukraine and is believed to have been abducted. He was found dead with signs of torture; his hands were handcuffed and his head was covered in duct tape. The Treaty on Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia is signed, formally joining the self-declared independent Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation as two federal subjects - the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. One Ukrainian soldier and one pro-Russian soldier were killed in the Simferopol Incident. Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev said in an
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation building by Russian special forces, the Supreme Council of Crimea voted to hold a referendum on 25 May, with the initial question as to whether Crimea should upgrade its autonomy within Ukraine. The referendum date was later moved from 25 May to 30 March. A Ukrainian court declared the referendum to be illegal. On 4 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was not considering annexing Crimea. He said of the peninsula that "only citizens themselves, in conditions of free expression of will and their security can determine their future". Putin later acknowledged that he had ordered "work to bring