Russian media write about this. They say the official allowed the Ukrainian authorities to bid for the territories. However, Crimea can be left as part of Russia in exchange for an annual payment of 500 billion rubles. It is not true.

On June 23, Anton Gerashchenko published a post on his Telegram channel in which it is said that the Crimean peninsula will be Ukrainian, but "it will be a matter of negotiations and further sanctions pressure." Gerashchenko wrote: "Let Russia pay 500 billion dollars of unearned income for Crimea every year. ... And then sooner or later the peninsula will return to us due to sanctions pressure." He meant that due to sanctions, Russia would lose 500 billion dollars (not rubles, as the Russians write) each year, forcing it to de-occupy Crimea. There is no question of the direct sale of Crimea to Russia. More details.