 Both Aksyonov and speaker Vladimir Konstantinov stated that they viewed Viktor Yanukovych as the "de jure" president of Ukraine, through whom they were able to ask Russia for assistance.The "little green men" began to surround Ukrainian bases in the peninsula and soon individuals were kidnapped.On 11 March, after disagreements between Crimea, Sevastopol, and the interim Government in Ukraine, the Crimean parliament and the city council of Sevastopol adopted a resolution to show their intention to unilaterally declare themselves independent as a single united nation with the possibility of joining the Russian Federation as a federal subject, should voters approve to do so in an upcoming referendum.