Natalia Poklonskaya, the new attorney general of Crimea. Photo: Li Qian/GT

Natalia Poklonskaya, the attorney general of Crimea who took office just over a week ago, held a press conference on March 19, a day after a shooting left two dead near a military base.

The shooting, just outside a suburban Ukrainian military facility in the Crimean capital Simferopol, killed a Ukrainian soldier and a Crimean self-defense team member. The incident attracted international attention as it marked the first deaths of military personnel since Russian troops took control of the Crimean peninsular.

Poklonskaya briefed the media on an investigation into the shooting, saying prosecutors are working with police who have recovered bullet casings. The incident is suspected by many as a move of provocation, but no suspects have been detained.

In an interview held after her press conference, Poklonskaya answered questions about the legal system of Crimea and addressed queries about her private life and appointment as attorney general. "As the idiom goes, 'Beauty saves the world,'" she said.

Since Crimea has signed agreements paving its way to become a Russian territory, changes to the region's legal system have become a focal point.

"In future, Crimea will adopt the Russian legal system," said Poklonskaya, adding that Ukrainian laws will still apply in the interim.

During Wednesday's meeting with the press, Poklonskaya made a fashion statement by not wearing her Ukrainian uniform since the previous day when Crimea's agreement to join Russia was unveiled.

Poklonskaya has become an online sensation since she appeared to the media on March 11 after becoming attorney general of Crimea, with commentators and Net users gushing about her youth and beauty that offered a lighter side to the region's ongoing political crisis.

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