Russia to this point has been acting within Treaty rights as stated below. theglobeandmail/news/world/nato-suspends-meetings-with-russia-for-refusing-to-withdraw-from-ukraine/article17322808/ According to this info Russia has not acted illegally in the Crimea. Most certainly not as accused by some of invading as 21st Century Nazi Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas treaty, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian%E2%80%93_Russian_Naval_Base_for_Gas_treaty Black Sea Fleet[edit] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Infantry_(Russia)#Black_Sea_Fleet 810th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade Kazachye Bukhta, Sevastopol (a Separate Naval Infantry Regiment until 1 December 2008) 880 Separate Naval Infantry Battalion 881 Separate Assault Battalion 888 Separate Reconnaissance Battalion 1613 Separate Artillery Battery 1619 Separate Air-Defense Artillery Battery 382 Separate Naval Infantry Battalion Russian actions[edit] UNEDITED WIKIPEDIA en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine#Military_action_in_Crimea See also: Timeline of the 2014 Crimean crisis Military action in Crimea[edit] Russian soldiers on patrol at Simferopol International Airport, 28 February 2014 On 26 February, President Vladimir Putin ordered urgent military exercises to test the combat readiness of his armed forces across western Russia.[50] From that day onwards, there were reports that Russian soldiers had established a checkpoint between the major Crimean cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol.[51][52] Crimea saw a sudden increased in armed presence, with militiamen dressed in khakis without any distinctive markings appearing all over the region. But while Putin denied the presence of Russian troops in Crimea, claiming these were pro-Russian local self-defence forces[53] the CNN caught on video one such soldier admitting he was Russian.[54] The presence of Russian troops is acknowledged by new Crimean leader Sergei Aksyenov.[36] The troops were subsequently identified, based on their battle dress and equipment, as belonging to the 45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment, which has previously been deployed to conflicts such asGeorgia and Kyrgyzstan.[55] Soldiers suspected of being Russians occupied Simferopol International Airport andSevastopol International Airport, while Western and independent media reported Russian troop movements in Crimea, including Russian military helicopters moving into the peninsula and Russian Army trucks approaching Simferopol, the Crimean capital.[56][54] Ukrainian officials said Russian forces took over a military airbase in Sevastopol, landed troops at another airbase,[57] and surrounded a coast guard base.[58] By 2 March, Ukrainian military bases in Crimea were under the control of Russian military forces;[53] soldiers infiltrated the radio-technical company at the Maganome Cape near Feodosiya;[59][60][not in citation given] the 55th Anti-Air Defense in Yevpatoriya had been seized.[59]Russian military, without identification, blocked the 36th Ukrainian Coastal Defense unit (Ukrainian Navy) in Perevalne (between Simferopol andAlushta) and demanded that the besieged Ukrainian Marines to surrender,[61] and 400 Russian special operations troops were arrived by the Russian Black Sea Fleet BDK Azov.[62] Russian Special Operation soldiers attempted to disarm the 191st Training unit of Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol;[63][64] there also was an attempt by another 30 soldiers of Russia to take over the 39th Training unit of Ukrainian Navy (Sevastopol).[65][66] The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine acknowledged seizure of its headquarters of the Azov-Black Sea regional administration and the Simferopol border detachment by the armed Russian soldiers.[67][68] The Crimea Front took over the building of Trade Unions in Simferopol and under the flag of Russia announced that they protect the Constitution of Ukraine;[69] Russian soldiers blocked the Ukrainian military installation -0669 in Kerch.[70] On 2 March, Ukrainian Navy Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky officially defected and pledged allegiance to Crimea.[71] According to MP Yuri Syrotyuk, Berezovsky had already been dismissed before his defection[72] for ordering his troops not resist the Russian forces in case of blockade or isolation.[72] Ukrainian units which refused to surrender informed the acting Minister of Defense Ihor Tenyukh, who replaced Berezovsky with Rear Admiral Serhiy Hayduk.[72] Internal Troops of Ukraine in Simferopol refused to lay down their arms and side with the Russians.[73] By 3 March 2014, Russian troops captured the Ukrainian Border Guard base in Balaklava after repeated assaults.[15] There was a number of incidents where the local civilians requested the Russian soldiers do not provoke the Ukrainian military.[74] Russia vowed troops would stay until the political situation has been normalised.[21] Around 21:00 (LST), five vehicles with soldiers of the Russian Black Sea Fleetbroke through the border checkpoint Krym-Kuban at the ferry crossing Krym-Kavkaz in Kerch.[75][76][77] Ukrainian defence sources alleged that the commander of Russian Black Sea Fleet Vice-Admiral Aleksandr Vitko had issued an official ultimatum to all Ukrainian military servicemen to surrender by 05:00 (LST) 4 March 2014 or face a military confrontation.[78][79] These allegations were denied by the Russian foreign ministry[80] and a representative of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters.[81][82] The deadline came and went without incident or attempt to storm.[83] Human rights observers confirmed that Russian soldiers are openly standing on the perimeter of the Ukrainian hamlet Perevalne.[84] Other troop movements[edit] The head of Chernihiv regional council announced that the Russians were conducting military movements on the Chernihiv Oblast segment of the State Border of Ukraine on 2 March 2014.[85] The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 3 March 2014 Russia had started to amass troops on several segments of the eastern borders with Ukraine (Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk oblasts).[86] Later, the Luhansk border detachment dismissed those claims as a disinformation by media.[87] On 3 March 2014, Russia deployed 3,500 troops and heavy equipment on the Baltic coast in Kaliningrad Oblast near Polish and Lithuanian borders,[88] causing Lithuania and Poland, who are members of NATO, to ask for protection against a Russian invasion.[89] ------------------------------------------------------------- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Fleet On April 21, 2010, Ukrainian President Yanukovych and Russian President Medvedev reached an agreement whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years with an additional 5-year renewal option (to 2042–47) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas.[22][23][24] This deal is controversial in Ukraine.[25][26][27][28][29] Joint exercises of the Ukrainian Navy and the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet may be resumed after a seven-year interval in June 2010.[30] In 2010, Russian military counterintelligence officers from the Russian Federal Security Service will return to the (Russian) Black Sea Fleet base.[31] While a Yushchenko administration minister said that Russia cannot unilaterally replace its Black Sea Fleet ships without Ukraines consent,[32]the recent lease extension also revalidated the agreements of 1997. Those agreements stipulate that the Russian Black Sea Fleet can maintain the same numbers and types of ships that it had based in Sevastopol as a result of the 1997 fleet division without approval by Ukraine. This stipulation permits Russia to increase the current size of the fleet which has fallen below those numbers.[33] As a result of the stance of the Ukrainian authorities, it was reported on 20 May 2013 that Russia would be concentrating on its new base inNovorossiysk and putting Sevastopol on hold as it upgrades the Black Sea Fleet. The Project-11356 frigate Admiral Grigorovich and the Project-636 submarines (Kilo class submarine) Novorossiysk and Rostov-na-Donu are expected to join the Fleet in 2014 and new moorings are being made ready for them at the base.[34] Additions of ships to the Fleet[edit] Repeated and sometimes contradictory announcements have been made claiming that new ships will join the fleet. On December 3, 2009, First Vice Mayor of Sevastopol Vladimir Kazarin stated that Russias Black Sea Fleet could lose its combat capability, given a small number of ships and the absence of new ones.[35] Similar doubts had been stated by the Russian media. The Gazeta newspaper noted that by 2015 the majority of the warships would no longer be fit for duty.[36] In April 2010, Russian Navy sources said that up to four frigates and four diesel-electric submarines will be added to the Black Sea Fleet by 2015.[37] In June 2010, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky announced that Russia was reviewing plans for the naval modernization of the Black sea fleet. The plans include 15 new warships and submarines by 2020.[38][39] These vessels will partially replace the reported decommissioning of Kerch, Ochakov (reportedly decommissioned in 2011), several large support ships, and a diesel-electric submarine. _____________________________ Russia’s 25,000-troop allowance & other facts you may not know about Crimea rt/news/russian-troops-crimea-ukraine-816/ Published time: March 04, 2014 20:07 Edited time: March 05, 2014 16:19 Get short URL Trends Ukraine turmoil Tags Conflict, Politics, Russia, Ukraine Ukraine’s statement at the UN that ‘16,000 Russian soldiers had been deployed’ across Crimea sparked a MSM feeding frenzy that steadfastly ignored any hard facts that got in their way. Especially unwelcome is the fact that the so-called ‘invasion force’ has been there for 15 years already. The media many trust described in hysterical tones how the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was under a full-scale Russian invasion with headlines like:“Ukraine says Russia sent 16,000 troops to Crimea”, “Ukraine crisis deepens as Russia sends more troops into Crimea,” as well as “What can Obama do about Russias invasion of Crimea?”. Facts, and ardent statements by top Russian diplomats were totally ignored by the western ‘war press’. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin pointed to the longstanding 25,000 troop allowance while FM Sergey Lavrov stressed the Russian military “strictly executes the agreements which stipulate the Russian fleet’s presence in Ukraine, and follows the stance and claims coming from the legitimate authority in Ukraine and in this case the legitimate authority of the Autonomous Republic Crimea as well.” So here they are, the facts: 1) A Russian naval presence in Crimea dates to 1783 when the port city of Sevastopol was founded by Russian Prince Grigory Potemkin. Crimea was part of Russia until Nikita Khruschev gave it to Ukraine in 1954. 2) In 1997, amid the wreckage of the USSR, Russia & Ukraine signed a Partition Treaty determining the fate of the military bases and vessels in Crimea. The deal sparked widespread officer ‘defections’ to Russia and was ratified by the Russian & Ukrainian parliaments in 1999. Russia received 81.7 percent of the fleet’s ships after paying the Ukrainian government US$526.5 million. 3) The deal allowed the Russian Black Sea Fleet to stay in Crimea until 2017. This was extended by another 25 years to 2042 with a 5-year extension option in 2010. PHOTO: The oldest active ship in Russia Black Sea Fleet The Commune in service since...1915! t.co/J3PjG84ZLdpic.twitter/UKn5EE9BfP RT (@RT_com) March 5, 2014 4) Moscow annually writes off $97.75 million of Kiev’s debt for the right to use Ukrainian waters and radio frequencies, and to compensate for the Black Sea Fleet’s environmental impact. 5) The Russian navy is allowed up to - 25,000 troops, - 24 artillery systems with a caliber smaller than 100 mm, - 132 armored vehicles, and - 22 military planes, on Crimean territory. Ukrainian marines look at a Russian ship floating out of the Sevastopol bay on March 4, 2014 (AFP Photo / Viktor Drachev) 6) Five Russian naval units are stationed in the port city of Sevastopol, in compliance with the treaty: - The 30th Surface Ship Division formed by the 11th Antisubmarine Ship Brigade. Comprises the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship guard missile cruiser Moskva as well as Kerch, Ochakov, Smetlivy, Ladny, and Pytlivy vessels, and the 197th Landing Ship Brigade, consisting of seven large amphibious vessels; - The 41st Missile Boat Brigade includes the 166th Fast Attack Craft Division, consisting of Bora and Samum hovercrafts as well as small missile ships Mirazh and Shtil, and 295th missile Boat Division; - The 247th Separate Submarine Division, consisting of two diesel submarines – B-871 Alrosa and B-380 Svyatoy Knyaz Georgy; - The 68th Harbor Defense Ship Brigade formed by 4 vessels of the 400th Antisubmarine Ship Battalion and 418 Mine Hunting Ship Division respectively.; - The 422nd Separate Hydrographic Ship Division boasts the Cheleken, Stvor, Donuzlav and GS-402 survey vessels and hydrographic boats. 7) Russia has two airbases in Crimea, in Kacha and Gvardeysky. 8) Russian coastal forces in Ukraine consist of the 1096th Separate Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment in Sevastopol and the 810th Marine Brigade, which hostsaround 2,000 marines. 9) Russian naval units are permitted to implement security measures at their permanent post as well as during re-deployments in cooperation with Ukrainian forces, in accordance with Russia’s armed forces procedures. Authorities in the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea – where over half the population is Russian – requested Moscow’s assistance after the self-proclaimed government in Kiev introduced a law abolishing the use of languages other than Ukrainian in official circumstances. Last week, Russia’s Federation Council unanimously approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to send the country’s military forces to Ukraine to ensure peace and order in the region “until the socio-political situation in the country is stabilized.” However, the final say about deploying troops lies with Putin, who hasn’t yet made such a decision, stressing that deploying military force would be a last resort.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 02:39:23 +0000
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