Timeline of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation guard post has been unblocked after several days of occupation. Head of Euromaidan — Krym Andriy Shchekun has been kidnapped in Simferopol. More than 200 scholars of Ukrainian and Russian affairs have undersigned an appeal for a peaceful, sustainable, and fair resolution to the current conflict. Two Ukrainian journalists (Olena Maksymenko and Oles Kromplyas) disappeared and are feared kidnapped at the border to Crimea. Several hundred residents of Crimea, mainly Crimean Tatars, have left Crimea for security reasons according to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Russian forces have seized the main military hospital in Simferopol. Prominent Russian dissident
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