An American journalist from NBC visited Crimea and talked to local residents

During a train ride across the bridge, Simmons said the roadbed was fully functional.

“In Sevastopol, a huge number of people support Russia,” the journalist said.

He showed a fragment of a conversation with a local resident Praskovya Baranova, whom he asked if she considered Crimea to be Russian.

"Russian, of course!"

she answered him.

A journalist asked her if she was afraid because the bomb shelters were open on the peninsula.

“Well, it will be necessary - and we’ll go to the shelter,” the woman said.

Another man, Ruslan, also answered Simmons' questions.

“If we do not defend our homeland, we will become slaves,” he said.

Earlier, the France 3 TV channel showed the residents of Donetsk and the consequences of shelling of the population by the Ukrainian army.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that the issue of Crimea is closed for Russia, and the referendum on the peninsula was held in strict accordance with international law. 

Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014: the majority of residents voted for reunification with Russia.