Confrontation in Crimea

Crimean self-defense squads in stand off with Ukrainian soldiers at Belbek airport

RT

4 March, 2014

The autonomous republic’s self-defense forces have met with Ukrainian soldiers who wanted to return to Belbek Sevastopol International Airport. The sides entered into long negotiations, which ended with a peaceful agreement.

Nearly 50 soldiers from the Ukrainian army singing the national anthem and brandishing the Ukrainian flag came to Belbek airport at about 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT). They were keen to continue their service on the airport’s territory.

After self-defense squads’ fired several warning shots in the air, both sides started negotiating.

"You are deliberately provoking us," one of the members of the self-defense forces told Ukrainian soldiers. The conversation was broadcast by Crimean ATR channel.

"How are we provoking you? We have no weapons," the Ukrainians responded.

After the negotiations, nearly 10 airport military personnel, including several servicemen, signalmen and dispatchers, were permitted to stay on the territory of the airport to help ensure safety of the premises.

“The negotiations involved a lot of give and take, and the self-defense squads agreed to our demands but on certain conditions,” Colonel Yury Mamchur from the Ukrainian forces told the journalists at the scene.

Ukrainian servicemen carry flags as they leave Belbek Airport in Crimea on March 4, 2014. (Reuters / Baz Ratner)Ukrainian servicemen carry flags as they leave Belbek Airport in Crimea on March 4, 2014. (Reuters / Baz Ratner)

The self-defense squads have been patrolling the grounds outside the airport since February 28. They were helping to ensure safety and prevent possible turmoil in Sevastopol and throughout the whole of Crimea.

Belbek Airport hosts 45 MiG-29 fighter jets and 4 L-39 training jets. However, only four fighters and one training aircraft are currently operational.

While most of the airport is patrolled by the self-defense squads, storage facilities with weapons and ammunition are still controlled by Ukrainian military forces.

The Crimean authorities have denounced the self-proclaimed government in Kiev and declared that all Ukrainian law enforcement and military deployed in the peninsula must take orders from them.

Many units within the national armed forces have started joining up with the pro-Russian Crimean government and the locals who organized self-defense against right-wing radicals. Recently, the commander of the Ukrainian navy and most of the military stationed in the peninsula took new oaths.This brings the total number of troops who've reportedly switched sides to nearly 6,000 in the last two days.

Among those pledging allegiance to Crimea is Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky, who was appointed by Kiev last week as chief of the Ukrainian Navy, but swore to serve the people of Crimea on Monday.

Crimeans began protesting after the new self-proclaimed government in Kiev introduced a law abolishing the use of other languages for official purposes in Ukraine. More than half the Crimean population is Russian and uses only this language for their communication. The residents have announced they are going to hold a referendum to determine the fate of the Ukrainian autonomous region.

See Incredible Pictures Show Unarmed Ukrainian Soldiers Confronting Heavily Armed Russian Troops for the other side of the story

Self-defense forces ranks swell in anticipation of Crimea showdown with radicals

The Crimean popular army made up of locals and former Ukrainian armed forces braces for possible impact with right-wing radicals making their way toward the region.

RT

4 March, 2014

The situation at checkpoints in the south-Ukrainian autonomous republic is tense. There are growing local fears of a collision between the popular self-defense forces and the right-wing separatists from the mainland. Two roads lead into the region. A growing number of locals of all walks of life and varying military experience are beginning to man the checkpoints.

“We want peace in our country, we don’t want what was happening in Kiev, we don’t want people to be hit with Molotov cocktails, or be shot or killed,” Aleksandr, a local resident, told RT.

“I don’t want war, but if it happens, no one will ask us, I guess.”

They team up with members of the disbanded Berkut security forces and other units loyal to the Crimean government. Just the past week has seen officers resigning en masse to join up with this people’s army. Even Cossacks in their traditional wear have started popping up among the ranks.

The self-proclaimed leadership in Kiev arouses suspicion and its legitimacy is questioned by civilian and soldier alike after passing a series of laws, among them the cancellation of the country’s official usage of minority languages – Russian included. Crimea will feel the sharp end of this fallout, with around half of its population being ethnic Russians.

Defying orders, many units within the national armed forces have started joining up with the pro-Russian Crimean government and the locals fighting right-wing radicals. Recently, the commander of the Ukrainian navy and most of the military stationed in the peninsula took new oaths.

This brings the total number of troops who've reportedly switched sides to nearly 6,000 in the last two days. They are likewise joined by a Special Forces regiment from one of the country’s most central cities, Kirovograd. On Sunday they refused a direct order to march on the Self-Defense Forces patrolling Crimea.

“They refused because we are one country and one nation. Who do these new rulers think they are,” a masked officer told RT’s Maria Finoshina, who has just returned from one of the Crimean checkpoints.

Visiting the locals who are now busy preparing for a possible battle, two things become clear: on the one hand a glimmer of hope that the remainder of the Ukrainian armed forces will soon join the fight to preserve the nation’s unity; and on the other, a fear that the right-wing units are making their way to the Crimea too. Recent reports of weapons dumps in Western Ukraine, among other things, are keeping the mixed ranks of the Self-Defense Forces on constant alert.