On 6 March, Ukraine's then-acting President, Oleksander Turchinov, stated that "The authorities in Crimea are totally illegitimate, both the parliament and the government. They are forced to work under the barrel of a gun and all their decisions are dictated by fear and are illegal."[230] Immediately after the treaty of accession was signed in March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Provisional Principal of Russia in Ukraine to present note verbale of protest against Russia's recognition of the Republic of Crimea and its subsequent annexation.[231] Two days later, the Verkhovna Rada condemned the treaty[232] and called Russia's actions "a gross violation of international law". The Rada called on the international community to avoid recognition of the "so-called Republic of Crimea" or the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia as new federal subjects.
On 15 April 2014, the Verkhovna Rada declared the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to be under "provisional occupation" by the Russian military[233] and imposed travel restrictions on Ukrainians visiting Crimea.[234] The territories were also deemed "inalienable parts of Ukraine" subject to Ukrainian law. Among other things, the special law approved by the Rada restricted foreign citizens' movements to and from the Crimean Peninsula and forbade certain types of entrepreneurship.[235] The law also forbade activity of government bodies formed in violation of Ukrainian law and designated their acts as null and void. The voting rights of Crimea in national Ukrainian elections were also suspended.[236] The law had little to no actual effect in Crimea itself due to the mutual non-recognition between Kiev and Simferopol.
Ukrainian authorities greatly reduced the volume of water flowing into Crimea via the North Crimean Canal, threatening the viability of the peninsula's agricultural crops, which are heavily dependent on irrigation.[237]
The Ukrainian National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting instructed all cable operators on March 11 to stop transmitting a number of Russian channels, including the international versions of the main state-controlled stations Rossiya-1, Channel One and NTV, as well as news channel Rossiya-24.[238]
In March 2014, activists began organising flash mobs in supermarkets to urge customers not to buy Russian goods and to boycott Russian gas stations, banks, and concerts. In April 2014, some cinemas in Kiev, Lviv, and Odessa began shunning Russian films.[239]
In December 2014, Ukraine halted all train and bus services to Crimea.[237]