GET THERE FIRST WITH THE MOST (Nathan Bedford Forrest) Ukrainian servicemen, back, struggle to defend an entrance of the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea, March 19, 2014. Crimeas self-defense forces on Wednesday stormed the Ukrainian navy headquarters in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, taking possession without armed resistance a day after Russia signed a treaty with local authorities to annex the region. CloseAndrew Lubimov/AP Photo {cke_protected_1}{cke_protected_2}AP March 20, 2014 Pro-Russian crowds seized two Ukrainian warships Thursday and Ukraine said its troops were being threatened in Crimea as the European Union considered new sanctions against Russia for its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula. Tensions in the region remained high despite the release of a Ukrainian naval commander held by pro-Russian forces. Shots were fired but there were no casualties as the Ukrainian corvette Khmelnitsky was seized in Sevastopol, according to an AP photographer at the scene. Another ship, the Lutsk, was also surrounded by pro-Russian forces. The Defense Ministry had no immediate information on the incidents. Ukraines Deputy Defense Minister Leonid Polyakov accused Russian troops of constantly threatening to storm military bases where Ukrainian soldiers were located, according to the Interfax news agency. In Geneva, Ukraines ambassador to the United Nations warned of a sharp deterioration in relations between the two neighbors, saying that Russia appears to be preparing for a military invasion in more areas of his country. Ambassador Yuri Klymenko said there were indications that Russia is on its way to unleash a full-blown military invention in Ukraines east and south since its annexation of Crimea. He said his statement was based on information from non-governmental organizations. In an address to the German Parliament in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was readying further sanctions and that the G-8 forum of leading economies had been suspended indefinitely. Russia holds the presidency of the G-8 and President Vladimir Putin was due to host his counterparts, including President Barack Obama, at a G-8 summit in Sochi in June. *** The EU and the United States have slapped sanctions on individuals involved in what they say was Crimeas unlawful referendum over joining Russia. Moscow formally annexed Crimea earlier this week in the wake of the poll. The Black Sea peninsula had been part of Russia for centuries until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine, and many residents were happy about rejoining Russia. Russian forces effectively took control of Crimea some two weeks ago in the wake of the ouster of Ukraines pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, after months of protests and sporadic violence. The crisis erupted late last year after Yanukovych backed out of an association deal with the EU in favor of a promised $15 billion bailout from Russia. That angered Ukrainians from the countrys pro-European central and western regions. *** Merkels tough approach came as the commander of Ukraines navy was freed after being held by Russian forces and local Crimean militia at the navys headquarters in Crimea. Rear Adm. Sergei Haiduk and an unspecified number of civilians were held for hours after the navys headquarters in Sevastopol was stormed Wednesday. Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov, who confirmed the release, said Russian forces were involved in the storming. In response, Ukraine on Wednesday said it would hold joint military exercises with the United States and Britain, signatories, along with Russia, of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum — a document designed to guarantee Ukraines territorial integrity when it surrendered its share of Soviet nuclear arsenals to Russia after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. With thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and sailors trapped on military bases, surrounded by heavily armed Russian forces and pro-Russia militia, the Kiev government said it was drawing up plans to evacuate its outnumbered troops from Crimea back to the mainland and would seek U.N. support to turn the peninsula into a demilitarized zone. Just how many retreating troops Ukraine will have to absorb in what amounts to a military surrender of Crimea was unclear. Many servicemen have already switched sides to Russia, but authorities said they were prepared to relocate as many as 25,000 soldiers and their families to the Ukrainian mainland. *** Since Russian forces took charge in Crimea, Ukrainian-enlisted personnel and officers have been bottled up in barracks and other buildings at one end of the Belbek base, with the Russians in control of the airfield. Were waiting for what Kiev, our leadership, tells us, said one major, who declined to give his name. The major said he expected about half of the personnel still at the base to accept the Russian offer to stay and join the Russian armed forces, since they were Crimea natives. Humbled but defiant, Ukraine lashed out symbolically at Russia by declaring its intent to leave the Moscow-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of 11 former Soviet nations. The last nation to leave the group was Georgia, which fought a brief war with neighboring Russia in 2008 and ended up losing two separatist territories. *** ========================================================== COMMENT Ukraine on Wednesday said it would hold joint military exercises with the United States and Britain if the above statement is true then, respecting southern and eastern Ukraine, Putin may give consideration to the advice of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Changes in loyalty from the Ukraine Army to that of Crimea might be expected of those born in or otherwise closely related to Crimea. And it may also denote the possibility that further changes in loyalty from the Unkranian to the Crimea-Russian army may be forthcoming---or at least weighed by the Quartet in determining what action NATO might or not take. In the meantime, if Russia hopes for the return of additional parts of the Ukraine, it will have agents at work throughout such parts fostering and encouraging their inhabitants to support a movement of return to Russia. SHOCKLEY
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:18:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015