Surrender or we attack: Russia ultimatum for forces in Crimea
Russians surround two Ukrainian military compounds in region; Moscow stocks fall 11.3% over war jitters
MOSCOW/PEREVALNOYE: Russia paid a financial price on Monday for its military intervention in neighbouring Ukraine, with stocks, bonds and the rouble plunging as President Vladimir Putin’s forces tightened their grip on the Russian-speaking Crimea region.
The Moscow stock market fell by 11.3%, wiping nearly $60 billion off the value of Russian companies in a day, and the central bank spent $10 billion of its reserves to prop up the rouble as investors took fright at escalating tensions with the West over the former Soviet republic. Interfax news agency quoted a Ukrainian Defence Ministry source as saying Russia’s Black Sea fleet had set a day deadline for Ukrainian forces in Crimea until Tuesday to surrender or face a military assault. Oleh Chubuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian navy, said: “We know nothing about this.” Ukraine said Russia was building up armoured vehicles on its side of a narrow stretch of water closest to Crimea after Putin declared at the weekend he had the right to invade his neighbour. Both sides have so far avoided bloodshed, but the market rout highlighted the damage the crisis could wreak on Russia’s vulnerable economy. Russian Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said market “hysteria” would subside but strains with Brussels and Washington — which has threatened visa bans, asset freezes and trade curbs — would remain to weigh on the economy.
On the ground in Perevalnoye, half way between the Crimean capital of Simferopol and the Black Sea, hundreds of Russian troops in trucks and armoured vehicles — without national insignia on their uniforms — were surrounding two military compounds, confining Ukrainian soldiers, who have refused to surrender, as virtual prisoners.