Russian troops take over Crimea
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Russian troops took over the strategic Crimean peninsula Saturday without firing a shot. The newly installed government in Kiev was powerless to react, and despite calls by US President Barack Obama for Russia to pull back its forces, Western governments had few options to counter Russia’s military moves.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sought and quickly got his parliament’s approval to use its military to protect Russia’s interests across Ukraine. But while sometimes-violent pro-Russian protests broke out Saturday in a number of Russianspeaking regions of eastern Ukraine, Moscow’s immedi- ate focus appeared to be Crimea.
Tensions increased when Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, made a late night announcement that he had ordered the country’s armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of “potential aggression.”
Speaking live on Ukrainian TV, Turchynov said he had also ordered stepped up security at nuclear power plants, airports and other strategic infrastructure.
Ignoring President Barack Obama’s warning Friday that “there will be costs” if Russia intervenes militarily, Putin sharply raised the stakes in the conflict over Ukraine’s future evoking memories of Cold War brinkmanship.
After Russia’s parliament approved Putin’s motion, US officials held a high-level meeting at the White House to review Russia’s military moves in Ukraine. The White House said Obama spoke with Putin by telephone for 90 minutes and expressed his “deep concern” about “Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The White House said Obama told Putin that the United States is calling on Russia “to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine.”
A statement from the Kremlin said Putin emphasized to Obama the existence of “real threats” to the life and health of Russian citizens and compatriots who are in Ukrainian territory. The statement indicated that Russia might send its troops not only to the Crimea but also to predominantly ethnic Russian regions of eastern Ukraine.
“Vladimir Putin emphasized that, in the case of a further spread in violence in eastern regions (of Ukraine) and Crimea, Russia maintains the right to protect its interests and the Russianspeaking population that lives there,” the Kremlin statement said.
Obama told Putin that he would support sending international monitors to Ukraine to help protect ethnic Russians. He said the U.S. will suspend its participation in preparatory meetings for June’s G-8 summit in Sochi, Russia, the site of the recently concluded Winter Olympics, warning that Russia’s “continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation.”
Nato announced a meeting for Sunday of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s political decisionmaking body, as well as a meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Commission. Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the allies will “coordinate closely” on the situation in Ukraine, which he termed “grave.”