President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko says that the so-called referendum on independence in Crimea in 2014 was not announced.

"I emphasize that despite the fact that the Supreme Council of Crimea did not have any authority to declare a so-called referendum, no referendum announcement took place. The manipulations with dates took place - first on May 21, then on March 16 – they testify to the haste and illegality of the actions of Russian authorities who tried to legalize the actions of the Russian Federation," Poroshenko said during a videoconference testimony as a witness in the case of treason of ex-president Viktor Yanukovych in the Obolonsky district court of Kyiv on Wednesday.

He also stressed that the situation in Crimea at that time was "very tense", it was coordinated by the special services of the Russian Federation.

"Coordination of these steps, together with the decision of Russian President Putin on the engagement of Russian Armed Forces outside of Russia, the appeal to the Federation Council of the Russian Federation for obtaining consent for the use of the Armed Forces, as well as the very hasty decision of the Federation Council, testify to the well-coordinated actions of the Parliament and the president of Russia with servicemen and mercenaries, which were in Crimea to provide illegal annexation," Poroshenko said.