Here is an update on troop movements including some Ukrainian movements in
Blue that were noted over the weekend.
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Euromaidan PR @EuromaidanPR 2h
#Russian NavalVessels are blocking StreletskayaBay in #Sevastopol during last 3 hours -KRYM.SOS |PR #Ukraine #Crimea pic.twitter.com/y1RA69Vt92
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...mea-berezovsky
Quote:
Ukrainian navy officers have rejected pleas for them to defect to the self-declared Crimean government at an extraordinary meeting at their headquarters in Sevastopol.
On Sunday the recently appointed navy commander-in-chief, Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky, appeared on television to announce he was defecting to the Russian-supported Crimean authorities. But despite his appeals to officers on Monday, they said they would remain loyal to their oaths to serve Ukraine. Berezovsky has been accused of state treason by the new authorities in Kiev.
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At Ukraine's naval command on Monday morning, officers lined up in the yard of their Sevastopol headquarters to be addressed by both Berezovsky and the newly appointed navy chief commander, Serhiy Haiduk.
The officers broke into applause as Haiduk read them an order from Kiev removing Berezovsky from his position, and told them that Berezovsky was facing treason charges. When Haiduk had finished his dry but compelling address, the officers spontaneously broke into the national anthem, and some were seen to cry. Berezovsky showed no visible sign of emotion.
"I know my men will stay loyal to their oaths," Haiduk said before the address. "What Berezovsky has done is a matter for him alone. When he brought intruders in here, we did not offer armed resistance as would have been our right, in order to avoid any provocations the other side would like."
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Alexei Mazepa, a spokesman for the Ukrainian ministry of defence, said that Russian forces continued to surround bases around Crimea, in an attempt to force Ukrainians to give up weapons and defect to the self-proclaimed Crimean authorities, who want to hold a referendum on the territory's status on 30 March. So far, Berezovsky appears to be the only high-profile defection.
Mazepa also said that Russian naval vessels were attempting to block Ukrainian vessels, and feared that attempts could be made to storm them soon.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...-ukraine-putin
Quote:
Senior US officials dismissed claims that Washington is incapable of exerting influence on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, but were forced to admit that Crimea had been successfully invaded by 6,000 airborne and ground troops in what could be the start of a wider invasion.
“They are flying in reinforcements and they are settling in,” one senior official said. Another senior official said: “Russian forces now have complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula.”
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Emphasis added.