Ukrainian officer shot dead and 1 militia killed at under-siege Crimean army base

By

Leon Watson

and Luke Garratt

|

Ukraine suffers its first deaths in Crimea as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine hits a ‘military stage’.

A Ukrainian serviceman and a member of a local self-defence brigade were shot dead, and many more were arrested in a Military base in Simferopol as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine escalates closer to all-out war.

News of the death of the militia member, who is said to be loyal to the Russian Federation came from the news service Interfax

The Ukrainian base was stormed by armed men at a military base in Simferopol in the Crimean Capital.

The men arrived in a truck bearing the Russian flag, and proceeded to storm the compound, firing shots and clearing the Ukrainian compound of its troops, arresting most of the soldiers, killing one, and injuring another.

Following the base attack, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has now warned that the conflict with Russia has escalated, saying: ‘The conflict is shifting from a political to a military stage.

‘Russian soldiers have started shooting at Ukrainian military servicemen, and that is a war crime.’

As a response, Ukrainian troops have been authorised to open fire in self defence after suffering their first casualty in the dramatic escalation to the now military crisis between the two countries.

After the attack Britain warned that the West and Russia faced a changed relationship in coming years, and London has suspended all bilateral military cooperation and halted arms exports to Russia.

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Armed Russian forces arrest Ukrainian army officers during an operation in Simferopol, after the crisis moves from from political to military action between the two countries, after one Ukrainian serviceman has been shot dead

Armed Russian forces take part in a military operation at a Ukrainian military base in Simferopol, which led to the first act of bloodshed when a Ukrainian serviceman was shot dead

An armed man clears a roof of an Ukrainian military unit in the Ukrainian military base, thought to be a Russian soldier instigating an act of war on behalf of his country

Ukraine’s interim president Oleksandr

Turchnynov later issued a statement placing responsibility for ‘the

blood of Ukrainian soldiers on the leadership of the Russian Federation

and specifically President Putin.’

Regional

defence ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the soldier died

after being shot in the neck when a group of gunmen stormed a Ukrainian

military base in the northeast of Crimea’s main city of Simferopol.

The

men that stormed the Ukrainian compound did not have direct markings

apart from the truck, but they were wearing the military uniforms of

Russian Federation servicemen.’

Another

soldier, part of the local Ukrainian self-defence brigade, was also shot, and died later, but there were no specifications as to whether the base was stormed by

Russian soldiers or pro-Kremlin militia who also patrol the peninsula.

But

the Ukrainian defence ministry said: ‘For their self defence and

protection of their lives, Ukrainian servicemen…deployed in the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea are allowed to use arms.’

Ukrainian

authorities have previously forbidden its Crimean soldiers from opening

fire – in some cases forcing them to stand guard at their bases with

empty rifles – in order not to provoke a Russian offensive that could

spill into an all-out war.

The

first soldier who was shot dead, indicating the first bloodshed of the now

military conflict, was identified as warrant officer S. V. Kakurin.

Reports have emerged that the incident may have occurred when when the a pro-Russian militia attempted to climb a wall in the Ukrainian compound, and was told to get back by Ukrainian forces.

Russian soldiers then intervened and shots were fired, with one soldier being shot in the neck, dying on the scene, and another being wounded.

British Prime Minister David Cameron,

reflecting Western worries that Putin’s encroachment could spread

farther in Ukraine and beyond, said ‘The Russian moves were in flagrant

breach of international law and send a chilling message across the

continent of Europe.

‘President Putin should be in no doubt that Russia will face more serious consequences.’

NATO has also condemned the activity, saying they are heading down ‘a dangerous path’.

Armed Russian forces take part in the military operation – causing the first bloodshed in the escalating conflict between the two countries

The arrests of the Ukrainian military officers is not the first act of aggression by Russia but it is one of the most direct

Unidentified armed men search an area close to an Ukrainian military unit in Simferopol, after gunfire at the military facility in the capital of separatist Crimea killed one serviceman and a member of a local self-defense brigade

The shooting has caused Ukraine to strengthen their frontier defences in response to the seizure of Crimea, digging anti-tank trenches across a stretch of a highway that links Russia to Ukraine.

In addition, they put a stretch of anti-tank chicane of house high concrete blocks to strengthen the area, in a move that was to show the media they are ready for an attack.

Sergeant Olesky Romanenko, a soldier on the border, said: ‘We are ready to defend out country.’

While there was no sign of large unit armed activity in the region, a few military trucks and armoured vehicles were seen moving around in the area.

Border guards are instead more concerned about what Kiev calls ‘Kremlin agents’ from Russia to spread dissent and spark violent street clashes in the Russian-speaking cities of Donetsk and Khariv.

Ukraine says these agent’s goals are to ‘turn local people against the leaders in Kiev’, in order to justify Moscow moving to ‘protect’ ethnic Russians, as in Crimea.

Many civilians are worried about the border for more economic reasons, with one businessman, Sergei Alexandrovich, from Rostov, saying ‘We’ve got very good economic relations.

‘It would be very bad for business if the border closes.’

Another said: ‘This is a tense situation. 

‘It’s all a political game in which ordinary people are suffering.’

Many unmarked soldiers stormed the Ukrainian compound inside Crimea, but experts have said while they did not bear markings, they were identified as wearing military uniforms that are worn by the servicemen of the Russian Federation

The truck used in the storming of the Ukrainian compound bore Russian markings, which has led the Ukrainian defence ministry to believe the attackers were Russian

Armed members of the Russian forces wait outside as Ukrainian soldiers stand guard inside the Ukrainian Navy headquarters in Simferopol. Previously the Ukrainian forces had been told not to fire at advancing Russian forces, but have now been given the go-ahead for armed self-defence

Most of the Russian’s offensive has bee blockades, as have they slowly but surely block off the vital Ukrainian military forces that would be needed to wage a war

The dispute between the two countries has been largely cold, with posturing on both sides and no active combat, and the death of the Ukrainian soldier today may be the catalyst that pushes the escalating crisis to war

Ukraine said one of its soldiers was killed in Crimea today in the first case of bloodshed since Russian troops and pro-Kremlin militia seized the rebel peninsula almost three weeks ago

The highly armed Russian forces have been taking part in military operations all over Ukrainian territory, even before Putin ordered the annexing of Crimea, but this incidence is the first of shots being fired and striking a living target

There has been no immediate reaction to

the reported death from either Russian authorities in Moscow or the

peninsula’s rebel leadership.

Vladimir Putin signed a decree to add Crimea to the Russian map today as the Ukrainian army officer was shot dead in the region.

With Ukraine vowing it will fight to protect the Black Sea peninsula, the incident will spark fears the two countries are edging ever closer to war.

But since Putin signed the degree, workers have already started dismantling the autonomous Crimean government, despite many powerful international figures claiming they do not recognise the annexing which came into affect as a product of the signing.

Workers started with the signs on the building of Crimean Parliament building, taking down the gold-coloured metal letters that indicated the building’s status, and the country’s status, as independent.

Since the decree was signed, workers have begun dismantling the autonomous government of Crimea, starting with the signs

Workmen change the lettering on the Parliament building to a sign that reads ‘Crimean Autonomous Council’, only days after the vote and mere hours after the annexing of Crimea

The dismantled Crimean Parliament signs. President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Crimea signed a treaty accepting the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as part of the Russian territory

WORLDWIDE REACTION TO THE ANNEXING OF CRIMEA

UNITED STATES

White

House spokesman Jay Carney- ‘We condemn Russia’s moves to formally

annex’ Crimea. ‘With sanctions already designated against Russian

officials, there are more to come.’ 

US

President Barack Obama, who then called on members of the G7 – minus

G8 member Russia – to join him in The Hague to discuss the crisis next

week – ‘The Crimean ‘referendum,’ which violates the Ukrainian

constitution and occurred under duress of Russian military intervention,

(will) never be recognised by the United States and the international

community.’

US Vice President Joe Biden – ‘Russia has offered a variety of arguments to justify what is nothing more than a land grab.’

BRITAIN

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, announcing that Britain will suspend all bilateral military cooperation with Russia - ‘It was regrettable to hear President Putin today choosing the route of isolation’ –

GERMANY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel – ‘The

one-sided declaration of Crimea’s independence and the absorption into

the Russian Federation that started today are unacceptable blows against

the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

‘The

so-called referendum breached international law, the declaration of

independence which the Russian president accepted yesterday was against

international law, and the absorption into the Russian Federation is, in

our firm opinion, also against international law.’

EUROPEAN UNION

EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel – ‘The European Union does neither recognise the illegal and illegitimate referendum in Crimea nor its outcome.

‘The European Union does not and will not recognise the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.’

UKRAINE

Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov – ‘Russia

is playing a dirty game to annex Crimea. World War II began with the

annexation by Nazi Germany of other countries’ territories. Today, Putin

is following the example of 20th century fascists.’

FRANCE

French President Francois Hollande – ‘France

does not recognise the results of the referendum held in Crimea on

March 16, or the annexation of this region of Ukraine to Russia.’

 

Another demonstrator in Sevastopol holds the hammer and sickle in the same hand as the flag of the Russian Federation as crowds celebrate their decision to secede from Ukraine following the Western-backed coup

Tsar Vladimir: Thousands of pro-Russian people watch Putin’s speech on big screens in Sevastopol

The incident came after Vladmir Putin

gave a firebrand speech that both encouraged his country to recapture

old former-Soviet territories, and warned the West not to get in the way

or interfere.

Russian politicians and media were

last night demanding Putin go further, grabbing back more

former Soviet regions and states.

The

nationalistic frenzy whipped up by the return of Crimea – in defiance

of the West – led to calls on state-run TV for Moscow to take back

oil and gas-rich Kazakhstan and authoritarian Belarus as well as more

slices of a battered Ukraine, already filleted by the Kremlin.

Putin

was last night riding the crest of an adulatory wave after righting

what many Russians see as an historical wrong and reintegrating Crimea

and the Black Sea fleet headquarters of Sevastopol back in to Russia

after a gap of 60 years.

Putin told the joint session of the Russian

parliament that he would not accept NATO ‘next to our home or on our

historic territories’.

He also accused the West of hypocrisy in pushing for self-determination for Kosovo but

denying Crimea, he said the peninsula had been ‘robbed’ from Russia in

Soviet times while ‘regions of Russia’s historic south’ were only now

Ukrainian because of a Bolshevik blunder.

In

an emotional and historic address he said: ‘In the hearts and minds of

people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of

Russia.’

CRIMEA: A RUSSIAN STATE ONCE MORE

PUTIN’S DECLARATIONS

‘In people’s hearts and minds,

Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia,’ Putin declared in

his emotional speech, dismissing Western criticism of Sunday.

Putin

said his actions followed what he described as Western arrogance,

hypocrisy and pressure, and warned that the West must drop its stubborn

refusal to take Russian concerns into account.

Addressing the West, Putin said: ‘If you push a spring too hard at some point it will spring back.

‘You always need to remember this.’

While

Putin boasted that the Russian takeover of Crimea was conducted without

a single shot, a Ukrainian military spokesman argued that the Ukrainian

serviceman who was killed when the military facility in Crimea was

stormed just hours after Putin’s speech indicated Putin, and Russia, had

officially committed a war crime.

‘We don’t want a division of Ukraine, we don’t need that.’

Regarding

the West again, Putin said: ‘They have constantly tried to drive us

into a corner for our independent stance,” Putin said. “But there are

limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed a

line.

‘They have behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.’

Putin said that the Soviet collapse made Russians ‘the largest divided people in the world.

‘I have heard residents of Crimea say that back in 1991 they were handed over like a sack of potatoes.

‘What

about Russia? It lowered its head and accepted the situation,

swallowing the insult. Our country was going through such hard times

then that it simply was incapable of defending its interests.’

HISTORY OF CRIMEA

Crimea

had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader

Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954, a mere formality

until the 1991 Soviet breakup.

Both

Russians and Crimea’s majority ethnic Russian population see annexation

as correcting a historic insult. Putin argued that today’s Ukraine

included ‘regions of Russia’s historic south’ and was created on a whim

by the Bolsheviks.

But

despite the massing of thousands of Russian troops on Ukraine’s eastern

border, Putin insisted his nation had no intention of invading other

regions in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Foreign

Secretary William Hague said President Vladimir Putin had chosen the ‘route of isolation’ by signing a treaty annexing Crimea just two days

after a hastily arranged referendum on the breakaway peninsula.

He said: ‘We

should be ready to contemplate a new state of relations between Russia

and the West in the coming years that is different from the last 20

years.

‘This is a relationship that would be

one in which institutions such as G8 are working without Russia, and

military cooperation and defence exports are permanently curtailed, in

which decisions are accelerated to reduce European dependence on Russian

energy exports.

‘We have suspended

all such military cooperation.’

Britain was also suspending all existing licences for the

export of arms to Russia, because it fears the equipment could be used

by Russian forces against Ukraine.

Hague said Britain encouraged other EU states to take similar action.

Hague said Britain was scaling back military ties

with Russia, which were only recently revived after relations between the two

countries were almost halted by the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

The EU has also been hindered by Russian activity, with Herman Van Rompuy cancelling a confidential meeting that was meant to take place between him and Russia.

‘The mission was cancelled because the

Russians made it public,’ a diplomat said.

Another diplomat added: ‘We must find a solution as quickly as possible to stop a return to the Cold War.’

Sanctions against Russia instituted

by the U.S. have been condemned by John Kerry’s Russian counterpart

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that Western sanctions

against Moscow over Crimea were ‘absolutely unacceptable’, and said

there would be consequences. 

 

On the crest of a wave: Russian President Vladimir Putin stands next to Crimean Premier Sergey Aksionov as he addresses a rally in Red Square, Moscow, celebrating Crimea’s decision to join with Russia

Ukrainian soldiers guard a gate of an infantry base in Privolnoye, Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty for Crimea to join Russia

Many Ukrainian military facilities in

Crimea have been under the control of Russian forces for several weeks

after Russian troops poured into the Black Sea peninsula ahead of a

referendum at the weekend which handed over control from Ukraine to

Russia.

Yatseniuk said he had ordered Ukraine’s defence minister to call a meeting with his counterparts from Britain, France, and Russia – signatories to a 1994 treaty guaranteeing Ukraine’s borders to ‘prevent an escalation of the conflict’.

Mr Putin defiantly added Crimea to the map of Russia despite protests among the international community.

In the emotional 40-minute speech televised live from the Kremlin, Mr Putin claimed the move corrected past injustice and responded to what he called Western encroachment his country’s vital interests.

A Russian girl holds a Russian national flag during rally celebrating Crimea and Sevastopol joining Russia on Red Square

Russians hold flags showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the slogan reading ‘We are together!’

People attend a rally called ‘We are together’ to support the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea to Russia at the Red Square in central Moscow

An elderly woman holds a calendar depicting Soviet leader Josef Stalin while watching a large screen showing a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech

He said Crimea had remained ‘in people’s hearts and minds, and has always been an integral part of Russia.’

Mr

Putin dismissed Western criticism of Sunday’s Crimean referendum – in

which residents of the strategic Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly

backed breaking off from Ukraine and joining Russia – as a manifestation

of the West’s double standards.

Mr Putin said the move followed what

he described as Western pressure, arrogance and its stubborn refusal to

take Russian concerns into account.

THE FRIGHTENING SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PUTIN’S AND HITLER’S SPEECHES

VLADMIR PUTIN

Putin claimed he would not invade other parts of Eastern Ukraine if Russia is allowed to exercise influence.

Putin said: ‘Don’t believe those who try to frighten you with Russia and who scream that other (Ukrainian) regions will follow after Crimea.

‘We do not want a partition of Ukraine, we do not need this.’

ADOLF HITLER

Hitler also claimed that his ambitions would stop at the Sudetenland.

‘What more is wanted? I have declared that the frontier between France and Germany is a final one. Germany has no interests in the West, and our western wall is for all time the frontier of the Reich on the west.

‘Moreover, we have no aims of any kind there for the future.’

Five months later he invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, 19 months later he invaded France.

Vladmir Putin’s speech bore remarkable similarities to the words spoken during Adolf Hitler’s speech where he spoke about the Nazi seizure of the Sudetenland

Russian President Vladimir Putin (second right), Crimea’s Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov (front left), Crimean parliamentary speaker Vladimir Konstantinov (back left) and Sevastopol Mayor Alexei Chaliy shake hands after a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow

‘If

you push a spring too hard at some point it will spring back,’ he said,

addressing the West. ‘You always need to remember this.’

But the Russian leader insisted his nation has no intention of invading other regions of Ukraine.

‘We don’t want a division of Ukraine, we don’t need that,’ he said.

He also accused the United States of being guided in its foreign policy not by international law but by the ‘rule of the gun.’

Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, stand guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye in Crimea

President Vladimir Putin pushed every emotional button of the collective Russian psyche as he justified the incorporation of Crimea, citing everything from ancient history to Russia’s demand for respect to Western double standards

A Ukrainian interim forces officer (right) talks to recruits during their exercises not far from Kiev

THE ODD MAN OUT: RUSSIA IN THE G8 GROUP OF WORLD POWERS

What is the G8?

The G8, otherwise known as the Group of Eight, is an assembly of world leaders who meet annually to discuss global issues.  Each year, the G8 holds a Leaders’ Summit, in which Heads of State and Government of member countries meet to discuss and attempt to reconcile global issues. 

What countries are members?

The G-8 includes the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada. Russia joined to form the G-8 in the 1990s, but has been a bit of an odd man out at their annual meetings.

Is the G8 important?

Yes, but the G-8 has been eclipsed in recent years by the G-20, which includes China and emerging markets and was created to better represent the drivers of the 21st century global economy.

When did it last meet?

Leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, USA and UK met at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland for the G8 Summit in June 2013.

When will it next meet?

Russia has the G-8′s rotating leadership and is scheduled to host a summit in Sochi in June, but the other members already had suspended preparations for that meeting over objections to Russia’s involvement in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s parliament has approved the partial mobilisation of troops to counter ‘Russian interference’ on its soil

A Ukrainian interim forces officer (left) supervises recruits during a shooting exercise

Members of Ukrainian self-defense forces march during their training on the Novi Petrivtsi shooting range near Kiev

At

the same time, Mr Putin also argued that today’s Ukraine included

‘regions of Russia’s historic south’ and was created on a whim by the

Bolsheviks – a clear warning to both the new Ukrainian government in

Kiev and to the West to respect Russia’s interests.

In

response, Ukraine’s new government called Mr Putin a threat to the

whole world and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. and

Europe will impose further sanctions against Moscow.

‘The

world has seen through Russia’s actions and has rejected the flawed

logic,’ Biden said, meeting Tuesday with anxious European leaders in

Poland.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague makes a statement to the House of Commons as MPs debate the ongoing situation in Ukraine

SHOTS FIRED AND UKRAINIAN AIR COMMANDER TAKEN IN CRIMEA

Armed men came to a Ukrainian military airfield in the Crimean peninsula, fired shots in the air and took away the base’s commanding officer, a military spokesman said.

The incident happened late on Monday at Belbek airport just outside the naval port of Sevastopol.

‘Unknown armed people came to the base late on Monday, shots were fired in the air and the commanding officer was taken away in an unknown direction,’ Vladislav Seleznov, a Ukrainian military spokesman said.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, a group of about 30 members of the so-called ‘Crimean Self-Defense’ came to a compound of apartment blocks that houses families of Ukrainian servicemen and took its commander away, Seleznov said.

‘They were there about 30 minutes … They took away the commander of the compound, Lt. Colonel Vladislav Nechiporenko, in a yellow mini-van,’ he said.

The two incidents could not be independently verified.

Seleznov could not say whether the incidents amounted to a violation of last week’s truce in Crimea reached between the defence ministries of Ukraine and Russia that is scheduled to last until March 21.
‘Today’s

statement by Mr Putin showed in high relief what a real threat Russia is

for the civilized world and international security,’ Ukrainian Foreign

Ministry spokesman Evhen Perebinis said on Twitter.

‘(The annexation) has nothing to do with law or with democracy or sensible thinking.’

Thousands

of Russian troops have been massed along Ukraine’s eastern border for

the last few weeks – Russia says that was for military training while

the U.S. and Europe view the troops as an intimidation tactic.

‘If

Ukraine goes to NATO or the EU, Mr Putin will do everything so that it

goes there without the east and south,’ said Vadim Karasyov, a

Kiev-based political analyst.

‘Mr

Putin basically told the West that Russia has the right to veto the way

Ukraine will develop. And if not, then Crimea is only a precedent of

how pieces of Ukraine can be chopped off one by one.’

Mr

Putin argued the months of protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev

that prompted President Viktor Yanukovych to flee to Russia had been

instigated by the West in order to weaken Russia.

He

cast the new Ukrainian government as illegitimate, driven by radical

‘nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites.’

With

strong emotion, Mr Putin accused the West of cheating Russia and

ignoring its interests in the years that followed the 1991 Soviet

collapse.

‘They have

constantly tried to drive us into a corner for our independent stance,

for defending it, for calling things their proper names and not being

hypocritical,’ Mr Putin said.

‘But

there are limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have

crossed a line. They behaved rudely, irresponsibly and

unprofessionally.’

Following

the speech before lawmakers and top officials, Mr Putin and Crimean

officials signed a treaty for the region to join Russia.

The

treaty will have to be endorsed by Russia’s Constitutional Court and

ratified by both houses of parliament, but Valentina Matviyenko, the

speaker of upper house of Russian parliament, said the procedure could

be completed by the end of the week.

Ukrainian interim forces officer new recruits learn techniques of unarmed combat

Kiev had called last week for the initial mobilisation of reservists and approved the creation of a new National Guard of 60,000 volunteers, as Russian forces encircled Ukrainian military bases in Crimea

New recruits: The nation has only some 6,000 combat-ready soldiers

Crimea

had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader

Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and

Crimea’s majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting

a historic insult.

In

his speech at the Kremlin’s white-and-gold St. George hall, which was

often interrupted by applause, Mr Putin said the rights of ethnic

Russians in Ukraine had been abused by the new Ukrainian government. He

insisted that Crimea’s vote Sunday to join Russia was in line with

international law and reflected its right for self-determination.

To

back that claim, Mr Putin pointed to Kosovo’s independence bid from

Serbia – supported by the West and opposed by Russia – and said Crimea’s

secession from Ukraine repeats Ukraine’s own secession from the Soviet

Union in 1991.

He

denied Western accusations that Russia invaded Crimea prior to the

referendum, saying Russian troops were sent there in line with a treaty

with Ukraine that allows Russia to have up to 25,000 troops at its Black

Sea Fleet base in Crimea.

The

hastily called Crimean vote was held just two weeks after Russian

troops had overtaken the Black Sea peninsula, blockading Ukrainian

soldiers at their bases.

The

West and Ukraine described the referendum as illegitimate and being

held at gunpoint, but residents on the peninsula voted overwhelmingly to

join Russia.

THE KOSOVO WAR: FEBRUARY 1998 TO JUNE 1999

Kosovo is the disputed land which lies on the border of Serbia and Albania.

War

broke out there in February 1998 when forces under Yugoslav President

Solbodan Milosevic tried to suppress an campaign for independence by the

ethnic Albanians in the country. Fighting continued in the region

until June 1999.

A deal to end the crisis – negotiated by the international community in 1999 – was rejected by Milosevic.

His

continued persecution of the Albanians prompted NATO to intervene,

launching air strikes against targets in Kosovo and Serbia in March of

that year.

At the same time a campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Kosovo Albanians began.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled across the border to Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.

After 11 weeks of Nato bombings, Milosevic was forced to withdraw his troops. The

UN was put in charge, until agreement could be reached on whether

Kosovo would become indepdent or revert to Serbian control.

In

May 1999 Milosevic became the first serving head of state to be

indicted for crimes against humanity, by the international war crimes

tribunal at The Hague.

Speaking

in Donetsk, the center of the Donbass coal-mining region in eastern

Ukraine, 37-year-old businessman Aleksei Gavrilov hailed Crimea joining

Russia and said Donbass also historically belonged to Russia.

‘Ukraine

is just a made-up , fake project which was created to destroy Russia,’

he said. ‘Everything that Mr Putin said is perfectly correct and I

support him completely!’

Igor Nosenko, a bar manager, watched Mr Putin’s speech in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
‘It

seems that I am in some kind of surrealist world when a person is

saying that white is black,’ he said. ‘In fact, it can be very

dangerous, it can be dangerous for the whole world since it is

absolutely unclear what this person (Mr Putin) has in his head.’

The

United States and the European Union on Monday announced asset freezes

and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in

the Crimean crisis. President Barack Obama warned that more would come

if Russia didn’t stop interfering in Ukraine.

Earlier

in the day, France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Europe-1

radio leaders of the Group of Eight world powers ‘decided to suspend

Russia’s participation.’

In

his speech, Mr Putin made it clear that Russia wouldn’t be deterred by

Western sanctions, and asked China and India for their support.

The

Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, on Tuesday

unanimously passed a resolution condemning U.S. sanctions targeting

Russian officials including members of the chamber.

The

chamber challenged Obama to extend the sanctions to all the 353

deputies who voted for Tuesday’s resolution, suggesting that being

targeted was a badge of honor. Eighty-eight deputies left the house

before the vote.

Mr

Putin found support even in unusual places. Former Soviet President

Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Crimea’s vote to join Russia as a ‘happy

event.’

In remarks Tuesday

by online newspaper Slon.ru, he said Crimea’s vote could also be an

example for people in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking eastern region.

The first volunteers enroll in the Ukraine

National Guard in Kiev (left) and (right) pro-Ukrainian activists

demonstrate during the European foreign affairs ministers council, near

EU headquarters in Brussels

A man holding a Soviet era red flag salutes in front of the parliament building after the end of the referendum in Simferopol, Crimea

Many

in Crimea’s ethnic Tatar minority were wary of the referendum, fearing

that Crimea’s break-off from Ukraine will set off violence against them.

Crimean Deputy Prime

Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev seemed to confirm those fears, saying in

remarks carried by the RIA Novosti news agency that the government would

ask Tatars to ‘vacate’ some of the lands they ‘illegally’ occupy so

authorities can use them for ‘social needs.’

But

Mr Putin on Tuesday vowed to protect the rights of Crimean Tatars and

keep their language as one of Crimea’s official tongues, along with

Russian and Ukrainian.

Meanwhile, the White House said the G7 world economic powers need to consider whether Moscow should keep

its membership in their organisation.

Mr Obama wants to gather leaders of the G7

nations and the European Union to meet on the sidelines of a nuclear

summit next week in the Netherlands.

Russia is one of 53 countries which

will participate in the nuclear meeting in The Hague.

In a

statement, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the meeting that Obama ‘will focus

on the situation in Ukraine and further steps that the G-7 may take to

respond to developments and to support Ukraine.’

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden waves as he arrives at the Okecie military airport in Warsaw, Poland

Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet President, has praised Mr Putin’s stance over the Crimea

It

comes as the leaders of the G8 world powers said today they have

suspended Russia’s participation in the club amid the tensions, France’s

foreign minister said today.

The

other seven members of the group had already suspended preparations for

a G8 summit that Russia is scheduled to host in Sochi in June.

France’s

Laurent Fabius went further today, saying on Europe-1 radio that

‘concerning the G8… we decided to suspend Russia’s participation, and

it is envisaged that all the other countries, the seven leading

countries, will unite without Russia’.

Also today, Serhiy Taruta, governor of the eastern city of Donetsk,

warned: ‘We’re going to have a war. Our people will take up arms and

they will protect our country.

‘A short distance away, thousands of Russian troops have been carrying out manoeuvres for the past few days.

‘If they decide to come into Ukraine, this is the way they’ll come – and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them.’

Ukrainian border guards patrol the road on the administrative border of Crimea and Ukraine not far the village of Strilkove in the Kherson region

Ukrainian border guards search a truck at a check point on the administrative border of Crimea and Ukraine

Today, Ukraine unveiled the first 500

recruits to its newly-formed National Guard and paraded them on Kiev’s

Independence Square.

Ukraine’s military is trying to raise a force of 40,000.

The

nation has only some 6,000 combat-ready soldiers, but parliament on

March 17 approved $670million (£400million) in emergency funding.

On

Sunday, Crimea voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and seek to

join Russia. The West and Ukraine described the referendum, which was

announced two weeks ago, as illegitimate.

UKRAINE ‘WON’T SEEK MEMBERSHIP OF NATO’, NEW LEADERS SAYS

Ukraine’s new pro-Western leadership is not seeking membership of NATO, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said today.

Yatseniuk, who came to office after the removal of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich, also said decentralisation of power was a key plank of government policy, adding Kiev’s efforts to integrate with Europe would take into account the interests of Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking industrial east.

‘Strictly with a view to maintaining Ukraine’s unity, the question of joining NATO is not on the agenda,’ Yatseniuk, who normally speaks in Ukrainian, said in a 10-minute televised appeal delivered in Russian.

‘The country will be defended by a strong, modern Ukrainian army.’

Kiev pursued a policy of closer ties with the U.S.-led NATO alliance before Yanukovich took power in 2010. Yanukovich then formally scrapped the idea of Ukraine’s eventual membership of NATO, declaring ‘non-bloc’ neutrality for his nation of 46 million sandwiched between Russia and the European Union.

Yesterday, the United States and the

European Union announced asset freezes and other sanctions against

Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis.

President

Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia did not stop

interfering in Ukraine. Russian troops have been occupying the region

for more than two weeks.

But

the chief executive of Russian oil giant Rosneft and a close ally of

President Vladimir Putin spoken out defiantly on the sanctions,

threatening to move business elsewhere.

Igor

Sechin, the head of Russia’s largest oil company, told Russian news

agencies today that he is not afraid of potential sanctions, calling

them ‘evidence of powerlessness’.

Rosneft

and Russian companies should not fear sanctions either, Mr Sechin

insisted, saying ‘Russian companies can move their business elsewhere’

away from the US and Europe.
Russia is a major oil supplier for Europe.

Malcolm Rifkind, who chairs the

British parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, told the BBC

the sanctions were ‘pathetic’.

He

said: ‘All that the international community has done so far is

implement visa sanctions and asset freezes on 22 or 23 individuals –

that is a pathetic response.’

Mr

Rifkind, a senior lawmaker in Prime Minister David Cameron’s

Conservative party, said the United States and European Union should get

tougher with Putin, preferably with ‘very robust financial sanctions’.

‘Now

it may be that as a result of what might happen that there will be a

much tougher response including financial sanctions. If so that will be

the right response,’ he said.

‘But

I hear very disturbing signs that it is unlikely there will be European

consensus on that: that we might say ‘well only if Russia invades

eastern Ukraine will it be necessary to go further’. That would be a

shameful and very dangerous response.’

Russia,

however, still has a chance to back off. The treaty to annex Crimea has

to be signed by leaders of Russia and Crimea, approved by the

Constitutional Court and then be ratified by the parliament.

Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954.

Both Russians and Crimea’s majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult.

He added that the Crimean poll has set

an example for people in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, who should

also decide their fate.

Mr

Gorbachev, 83, who resigned as the Soviet president on Christmas Day

1991, has voiced regret that he was unable to stem the Soviet Union’s

collapse.

He has criticised Mr Putin’s authoritarian policy, but said today that he supports his course in the Ukrainian crisis.

Ukraine’s turmoil, which began in

November with a wave of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych and

accelerated after he fled to Russia in late February, has become

Europe’s most severe security crisis in years.

Meanwhile,

Russian lawmakers have responded caustically to Western sanctions

against officials involved in moves to annex Crimea, urging the United

States and European Union to impose the same penalties on hundreds more

members of parliament.

A

declaration adopted unanimously by the State Duma lower house said: ‘We

propose to Mr Obama and the … Eurobureaucrats to include all State

Duma deputies who voted in favour of this resolution on the list of

Russian citizens affected by U.S. and EU sanctions.’

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Poland on a trip designed to show America’s resolve against Russia’s intervention in neighbouring Ukraine.

He landed in Warsaw, where he planned to have talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Bronislaw Komorowski. He will also meet Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

The meetings with the Nato allies are part of a broader US campaign to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to back off in Ukraine. The US is imposing the most comprehensive sanctions against Russian officials since the Cold War.

Later today, Mr Biden will fly to the Baltic nation of Lithuania to meet President Dalia Grybauskaite and Latvian President Andris Berzins.

Latvia and Estonia share borders with Russia, and Poland and Lithuania are nearby.

A REGION WORTH FIGHTING FOR? WHY RUSSIA COVETS THE CRIMEA

Flashpoint: A picture of soldiers during the Crimean War, circa 1855

Crimea is a region synonymous with military glory for Russians, imperial and Soviet.

Catherine the

Great first annexed the region in 1783 after defeating the Ottoman Turks and built a naval base and the city Sevastopol. The

Russian Black Sea fleet has been there ever since.

What

Crimea is best remembered for in the West is the Crimean War of the

1850s. The conflict was initially between the Ottoman Empire and the

Russian Empire but drew in Britain and France.

It ended with the Treaty of London of 1856.

The

region only became part of Ukraine in 1954, when Soviet leader

Nikita Khrushchev, who was himself Ukrainian-born, signed it over to the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from Russia. Pro-Kremlin campaigners call this a ‘historical accident’.

Ethnic, cultural and religious ties are also very Russian, leading some pro-Kremlin Crimeans to freely admit they would like Crimea to join the Russian Federation.

Currently, there are two million ethnic Russians who live on the peninsula, making up almost 60 per cent of the population.

Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars – the peninsula’s original Turkic-speaking Muslim inhabitants – account for the rest.

But it has not always been that way.

By

1900 Crimean Tatars, previously the major population, had been reduced

to half of residents. After the Soviet revolution they were reduced to a

quarter.

The Crimea has remained a stable feature of geopolitics for over a century and a half

Then Stalin forcibly deported many of them to Central Asia and replaced them with Slavs from Russia or

Russian-influenced parts of eastern Ukraine.

As

a result Crimea was largely ‘russified’ over the two centuries after

its incorporation into the Russian Empire and its indigenous Muslim

population swamped or displaced.

Hundreds

of thousands of Muslim Tatars remained or have returned, but they are

still a minority numbering about 15 per cent of the population.

They

reject the notion of union with Russia and are loyal to Kiev – another

volatile element in an already combustible ethnic mix.

Most

of Stalin’s newcomers were from poor urban backgrounds; they moved into

homes vacated by deportees and had weak ties with Ukraine.

They

freely admit they would like Crimea to join the Russian Federation.

‘It’s a myth that Ukraine is not part of Russia. We don’t believe it,’

Oleg Rodilov, a pro-Russian MP in Crimea’s autonomous parliament said in

2008.

It would be wrong to accuse him of ‘separatism’, he added. ‘For

you, Ukraine and Russia are a priori different states. For us they are a

priori the same,’ he said.

The

links of culture, language and Orthodox religion made Ukraine and

Russia an indivisible entity, he said. Also, both countries were Slavic,

he said. ‘We don’t believe there is any difference. We have been

together for 350 years.’

Ukraine’s recent civil conflict has fanned this tension in Crimea.

Comments (555)

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Fred,

DC, United States,

moments ago

Who is wearing the British uniforms?? I would think they are Ukrainian guys.

Ross,

Brighton UK, United Kingdom,

7 minutes ago

I see so meny agree with me that the west has become the bully’s and that the UK government dose not have all the support of the British people .probely only a few support. But looking at the papers not many do want to punish Russia .Are UK government dose not here us as before .They all went to Eaton school did they hear then? I wonder ?

fozzie,

usa,

12 minutes ago

what’s with all the ski masks? lol

Weiss,

Britannia,

12 minutes ago

I don’t think Obama/Kerry/Biden/Cameron/Vague Hague would be making all these threats towards Russia if they didn’t have mega luxurious nuke bunkers with plentiful supplies of the latest freeze dried 30 year storable food.. Fully decoupled shock absorbed Nuke Bunkers. All world leaders should be prohibited from having access to nuke bunkers; that should prevent them from starting wars. If politicians start wars they should be compelled to actually fight them with their own bodies!

i give up,

norwich, United Kingdom,

41 minutes ago

Western politicians really do want a nice little war to distract us from the economic mess we’re in. The double standards of the west have been unbelievable; no mention of self determination or the will of the people, just a load of warmongering idiots like Hague frothing at the mouth.

oz,

sabrie, Grenada,

50 minutes ago

ive said this before during the syria crisis. we, the citizens should be allowed to pay 0% tax if we dont support the war.

Lyudmila,

Moscow, Russia,

58 minutes ago

And I want to thank you that the most people understands very well what really happened in Ukraine, as I see here…

Jacqui,

London,

1 hour ago

It’s not the first bloodshed. Two pro Russian activist were shot dead last week.

Tony Margiocchi,

luton, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

If we are to get involved with this then all MP’s kids can be called up and be put in the firing line. If you are not going to offer up your sacrificial lambs, don’t offer any of ours! Frankly we don’t need any more wars or any more of our service folks killed.

ME,

London, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

All you royal simpletons worrying about Queenie can sleep tight. She will be in her bunker with her banker friends.

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Ukrainian officer shot dead and 1 militia killed at under-siege Crimean army base