Armed Men Seize Government HQ, Raise Russian Flag in Ukraine’s Crimea
February 26th, 2014Update: Ukraine Warns Moscow Against Russian Military Movements in Crimea
Via: Reuters:
Ukraine said on Thursday it would regard any movements by Russian military in Crimea outside the Russian Black Sea fleet’s base in Sevastopol as an act of aggression.
Acting President Oleksander Turchinov issued the warning in the national parliament after armed men seized the regional government and parliament buildings in Crimea, where some ethnic Russians want the region to join the Russian Federation.
Turchinov, who is also the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, appealed for Moscow to adhere to the rules of an agreement which allows Russia’s Black Sea fleet to be based in Sevastopol until 2042.
“I am appealing to the military leadership of the Russian Black Sea fleet … Any military movements, the more so if they are with weapons, beyond the boundaries of this territory (the base) will be seen by us as military aggression,” he declared.
The identities of the men in the buildings in the regional capital of Simferopol were not immediately known and they issued no demands.
—End Update—
Via: Reuters:
Armed men seized the regional government headquarters and parliament on Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula on Thursday and raised the Russian flag.
A Reuters correspondent on the scene in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, said the door of the parliament was blockaded from inside by tables and chairs and no one was now able to enter.
Interfax news agency quoted a witness as saying there were about 60 people inside and that they had many weapons. It said no one had been hurt when the buildings were seized in the early hours of Thursday.
