SIMFEROPOL, February 1. /TASS/. The second regional cellular operator is starting work in Crimea on Monday.

The operator was established on the basis of the peninsula’s largest fixed communication operator Krymtelekom. Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov will launch the operator.

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification deals March 18, 2014.