The BBC is reporting that Vladimir Putin has admitted plotting the annexation of Crimea three weeks before a "referendum" on "self-determination". The admission was made in a documentary shown on the Russian TV channel Rossiya-1
Vladimir Putin has admitted for the first time that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the referendum on self-determination.
Crimea was formally absorbed into Russia on 18 March, to international condemnation, after unidentified gunmen took over the peninsula.
Mr Putin said on TV he had ordered work on "returning Crimea" to begin at an all-night meeting on 22 February.
The meeting was called after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.