Pro-Russians storm Ukrainian naval headquarters in Crimea
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MASKED Russian-speaking troops yesterday seized control of Ukrainian naval headquarters in Crimea, after it was stormed by militiamen. Pro-Moscow Crimean authorities also detained the Ukrainian navy commander and reportedly blocked the defense minister and another government official from traveling to the peninsula to try to defuse tensions.
Ukraine’s military, which is heavily outnumbered in Crimea, has come under increased pressure since the region was nominally incorporated into Russia on Tuesday.
The several hundred militiamen who captured the base in Sevastopol met no resistance. Sevastopol is also the home port of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and tens of thousands of Russian-led troops are now patrolling Crimea.
It came a day after a confrontation between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian militia left two dead.
The Russian-speaking troops, who arrived on the base after the storming, wore uniforms with no identifying insignia. By afternoon, they were in full control of the naval headquarters.
It was not clear how many, if any, Ukrainian servicemen remained on the base.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said no one was injured in the raid, which it said was led by pro-Russian militiamen and Cossacks.
The ministry said that Rear Admiral Sergei Haiduk was detained by unknown people after the storming of fleet headquarters. The Russian state ITAR-Tass news agency reported that he was being questioned by Crimean prosecutors.
Ukraine’s defense minister and deputy prime minister had planned to travel to Crimea yesterday in a bid to avert an escalation in hostilities.
But the prime minister in Crimea warned after their departure was announced that they would be turned back.
“They are not welcome in Crimea,” Sergei Aksyonov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. “They will not be allowed to enter Crimea. They will be sent back.”
Interfax cited Welfare Minister Lyudmila Denisova as saying the pair were denied entry to Crimea. She said an emergency session of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council will be held.
At the Ukrainian navy headquarters, witnesses said the militiamen took down the gate and raised the Russian flag in the square.
The unarmed militiamen waited for an hour and, following the arrival of the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, took over the building.
On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia following a referendum Sunday in which residents of the region overwhelmingly backed the move.
Crowds in Moscow and other cities across Russia hailed the annexation, while Ukraine’s new government called Putin a threat to the “civilized world and international security,” and the US and the European Union threatened tougher sanctions. On Monday, Washington and Brussels targeted Russian and Crimean officials with visa bans and asset freezes.
Russian news agencies yesterday cited Constitutional Court chairman Valery Zorkin as saying the treaty signed by Putin has been ruled valid, thus formally clearing another hurdle for Moscow to annex Crimea. The treaty now only requires ratification by the Russian parliament.
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