Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksandr Turchynov has said it is a provocation by Russia to propose holding a referendum in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine.

"Russia has its interpretation of both the Minsk Agreements and the Steinmeier formula. They disguise their destructive position under any guise, including their proposal to hold a referendum. Sorry, this is a provocation and nonsense. Holding a referendum in the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas is the same as giving a lecture to the Colorado beetles about the need to save the harvest," he told journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Turchynov said complete de-occupation and complete liberation of the occupied territories is needed before political mechanisms of reintegration of these territories under Ukraine's constitution can begin.