Crimean crisis: Leaders in the Ukrainian Kherson Oblast threaten to shut off all power and water to Crimea if the referendum goes forward. Russia masses its military near the Ukrainian border again as new military operations are announced. 14 March – United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov meet in London, United Kingdom, to discuss the current Crimean crisis. 15 March – The March of Peace took place in Russia a day before the Crimean referendum. 30,000 people participated in anti-war protests in Moscow. 16 March – Voters in Crimea vote overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia. Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States condemn the referendum, which did not give voters the option of the status quo. 17 March President of the United States Barack Obama announces that the United States will sanction Russian officials that contributed to the current Crimean crisis. The Republic of Crimea is declared. 18 March A Ukrainian military serviceman is killed in an attack on a base in Crimea's main city, Simferopol. 2014 Crimean crisis: Japan announces it will fall in line with American sanctions against Russia for its role in promoting the secession of Crimea from Ukraine. The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty. Transnistria formally requests to join the Russian Federation. 19 March – Russian forces overrun the Ukrainian Navy headquarters in Sevastopol and another naval base. 20 March 2014 Crimean crisis: The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, announces the possibility of further sanctions from the European Union against Russia for the invasion and annexation of Crimea. The President of the United States, Barack Obama, announces further sanctions against Russia in response to the annexation of Crimea. 21 March 2014 Crimean crisis: The Russian Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly, approves the annexation of Crimea. The President of Russia Vladimir Putin signs the legislation completing the annexation of Crimea. Ukraine signs an association accord with the European Union in defiance of Russia. 22 March – Russian troops capture Novofedorivka, an airbase of the Ukrainian Navy in the western region of the Crimean Peninsula. 24 March 2014 Crimean crisis: The interim President of Ukraine Olexander Turchynov orders Ukrainian forces to withdraw from Crimea. UK Prime Minister David Cameron says the planned 40th G8 summit scheduled to be held in Sochi will not take place because of Russia's actions