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President Barack Obama ruled out a “military excursion” by the US in Ukraine, saying that engaging Russia militarily “would not be appropriate.”
“We are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine,” Barack Obama said in an interview with KNSD in San Diego.
“What we are going to do is mobilize all of our diplomatic resources to make sure that we’ve got a strong international coalition that sends a clear message, which is that Ukraine should decide their destiny.”
“There is a better path, but I think even the Ukrainians would acknowledge that for us to engage Russia militarily would not be appropriate and would not be good for Ukraine either,” he added.
In a separate interview with KSDK in St. Louis, Barack Obama reiterated that a military option is not on the table but that the US and its allies are prepared to take “even more disruptive economic actions.”
Barack Obama ruled out a “military excursion” by the US in Ukraine
“Obviously, we do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia,” he said.
“The Ukrainians don’t want that. Nobody would want that.”
Barack Obama granted interviews to six local television stations on Wednesday.
In the interview with KNSD, President Barack Obama insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “acted out of weakness, not out of strength,” saying that Putin is “not comfortable” with countries loosening their ties to the Kremlin in favor of more freedom to deal with the West.
“His strategic decisions are no way based on whether he thought that we might go to war over this,” Barack Obama added.
“I think there’s a clear understanding that when it comes to our core interests or our NATO allies we can protect ourselves.”
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Kiev’s security chief Andriy Parubiy has announced that Ukraine is drawing up plans to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea.
Andriy Parubiy said they wanted to move them “quickly and efficiently” to mainland Ukraine.
Earlier, pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases – including Ukraine navy’s headqurters – in Crimea. Kiev says its navy chief has been detained.
It comes a day after Crimean leaders signed a treaty with Moscow absorbing the peninsula into Russia.
A referendum in Crimea on Sunday, approving its split from Ukraine, came nearly a month after Kiev’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was replaced by Western-leaning interim authorities.
Andriy Parubiy, in a news conference, set out more details on Kiev’s position in light of the events in Crimea.
He said arrangements were now being set up to introduce visas for Russian nationals travelling to Ukraine.
And he said Kiev was seeking UN support to “proclaim Crimea a demilitarized zone”, which would involve the withdrawal of Russian troops and the “relocation of Ukrainian troops to continental Ukraine as well as facilitate evacuation of all the civilian population who are unwilling to remain on the occupied territory”.
Ukrainian flags in Crimea have been replaced by Russian ones (photo AP)
Ukraine is also leaving the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance, and is preparing for military exercises with the US and the UK, Andriy Parubiy added.
With reference to plans to withdraw troops and their families, Ukraine’s interim Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said that they would not be forced to leave if they did not want to.
But he said: “The situation is unpredictable and uncontrolled sometimes, so that’s why there is a danger also for the civilians.”
Meanwhile, a deadline of 21:00 local time set by Ukraine’s interim President Oleksandr Turchynov for the release of navy chief Serhiy Hayduk has passed.
Oleksandr Turchynov earlier said that unless Serhiy Hayduk and “all the other hostages – both military and civilian ones – were released, the authorities would carry out an adequate response… of a technical and technological nature”.
It is not clear exactly what he means, but it could involve the electricity or water that Ukraine supplies to Crimea.
Kiev said Serhiy Hayduk was detained soon after Ukraine’s naval headquarters was stormed by some 200 pro-Russian activists, some armed, in Sevastopol – the port city which is also home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
They were filmed going through offices, removing Ukrainian insignia and replacing Ukraine’s flag with the Russian tricolor.
There were cheers from the crowd when Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko arrived and entered the building.
A handful of Ukrainian servicemen have refused to surrender.
Ukraine’s navy base in Novo-Ozyorne in west Crimea was also infiltrated after a tractor was used to ram the front gates. Some 50 Ukrainian servicemen were seen filing out of the base.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh and First Deputy PM Vitaly Yarema reportedly tried to enter Crimea to defuse tensions but were prevented from doing so.
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Armed pro-Russian activists have stormed the headquarters of Ukraine’s navy in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
Several Ukrainian servicemen have left, the Russia flag is flying and there are reports that Ukrainian navy chief Serhiy Hayduk has been detained.
It comes a day after Crimean leaders signed a treaty with Russia absorbing the peninsula into Russia.
Sunday’s disputed referendum, which officials say backed splitting from Ukraine, has been widely condemned.
Crimean and Russian officials say the vote showed overwhelming public support for joining Russia, with 97% of voters in favor.
But the West and the Ukrainian government in Kiev say the referendum – organized in two weeks and boycotted by many of Crimea’s Ukrainian and Tatar minorities – was illegal, and the results will not be recognized.
Activists put Russian flag at the Sevastapol navy base
On Wednesday, Russia’s constitutional court approved the treaty as legal.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh has reportedly been ordered to head to Crimea amid the rising tensions.
Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Crimea’s Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, who is in Moscow, as saying: “Nobody will let them into Crimea, they will be sent back.”
Later, there were reports that Ukrainian navy chief Serhiy Hayduk had been detained and taken away from the base by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
A number of Ukrainian servicemen were seen leaving the base. There have been no reports of clashes or shots being fired.
Ukrainian navy spokesman Sergiy Bogdanov told AFP news agency: “There are about 200 of them, some wearing balaclavas.”
“They are unarmed and no shots have been fired from our side. The officers have barricaded themselves inside the building,” he said.
He said even though Kiev had authorized the military to use force in Crimea in self-defense “we are not doing so and will not do so”.
Reports are also emerging of a similar incident at a Ukrainian navy base in Novo-Ozyorne, western Crimea.
Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman Vladyslav Seleznev said a tractor had rammed the gates of the compound and pro-Russians had entered the base.
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A Ukraine’s army junior officer has been killed in an attack on a military base in Crimea.
This is the first such death since pro-Russia forces took control in February.
Ukraine has now authorized its troops to fire in self-defense.
The attack came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Crimea signed a bill to absorb the peninsula into Russia.
Western powers condemned the treaty and a G7 and EU crisis meeting has been called for next week in The Hague.
The Ukrainian crisis began in November last year after pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned an EU deal in favour of stronger ties with Russia. He fled Ukraine on February 22 after protests in which more than 80 people were killed.
According to new reports, armed men arrived in two unmarked vehicles, storming the base in Simferopol and firing automatic weapons.
A Ukraine’s army junior officer has been killed in an attack on a military base in Crimea
The Ukrainian government said a junior officer who was on duty in a park inside the base had been killed and another officer injured. A third serviceman had leg and head injuries after being beaten with iron bars, it said.
The government said the commander of the unit was captured by men wearing Russian uniforms.
Defense ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov told Reuters the attack was by “unknown forces, fully equipped and their faces covered”.
The Ukrainians had had their IDs, weapons and money confiscated, he said.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk told an emergency government meeting: “The conflict is shifting from a political to a military stage.
“Russian soldiers have started shooting at Ukrainian military servicemen and that is a war crime.”
Reports from the Crimean news agency, Kryminform, said a pro-Russia defense force member had been shot dead.
Crimean police later said both Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces had been fired on from a single location and that one Ukrainian was killed and one injured, and one pro-Russian was killed and one injured.
None of the accounts can be independently confirmed.
Until now only warning shots have been fired amid a truce – but it appears the tension has boiled over and there are fears that further clashes could follow.
Earlier, President Vladimir Putin told Russia’s parliament that Crimea had “always been part of Russia” and in signing the treaty he was righting a “historical injustice”.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Crimea have signed a bill to incorporate the peninsula into Russia.
Vladimir Putin told parliament that Crimea had “always been part of Russia”.
Kiev said it would never accept the treaty and the US has called a G7-EU crisis meeting next week in The Hague.
After the signing, Kiev said a Ukrainian serviceman had been killed in an attack on a base in Crimea.
The defense ministry said the attack took place in the capital, Simferopol.
US Vice-President Joe Biden, speaking earlier in Poland, said Russia’s involvement in Crimea was “a brazen military incursion” and its annexation of the territory was “nothing more than a land grab” by Moscow.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said: “We do not recognize and never will recognize the so-called independence or the so-called agreement on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.”
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the Crimea crisis had moved from the political to the military stage.
Germany and France quickly condemned the Russia-Crimea treaty.
Vladimir Putin later appeared before crowds in Moscow’s Red Square, telling them: “Crimea and Sevastopol are returning to… their home shores, to their home port, to Russia!”
He shouted “Glory to Russia” as the crowds chanted “Putin!”
Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signs treaty to incorporate the peninsula into Russia
Crimean officials say that, in a referendum held in the predominantly ethnic-Russian region on Sunday, 97% of voters backed splitting from Ukraine.
The EU and the US have declared the vote illegal. Travel bans and asset freezes have been imposed on government officials and other figures in Russia, Crimea and Ukraine, but these have been largely dismissed as ineffectual in Russia.
In a televised address in front of both houses of parliament and Crimea’s new leaders, Vladimir Putin said: “In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.”
The referendum had been legal and its results were “more than convincing”, he said.
“The people of Crimea clearly and convincingly expressed their will – they want to be with Russia,” he said, and were no longer prepared to put up with the “historical injustice” of being part of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin criticized Ukraine’s post-uprising leaders and those behind the unrest, saying they were “extremists” who had brought chaos.
He also praised the “courage, bearing and dignity” of Crimeans, and thanked all Russians for their “patriotic feeling”.
The West, Vladimir Putin said, had behaved “irresponsibly” in backing the uprising, and he denied Russia was interested in annexing more territory.
“Don’t trust those who frighten you with Russia… we do not need a divided Ukraine” he said.
Russia “will of course be facing foreign confrontation,” he said, adding: “We have to decide for ourselves, are we to protect our national interest or just carry on giving them away forever?”
The audience frequently applauded Vladimir Putin at length during his emotionally charged speech, and gave him a standing ovation.
President Vladimir Putin, Crimea’s PM Sergei Aksyonov, the region’s Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov and the mayor of Sevastopol, Alexei Chaliy, then signed a treaty on making the Black Sea peninsula a part of Russia.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin had recognized Crimea as a sovereign state and approved a draft bill on its accession to the Russian Federation.
The bill must now be approved by the constitutional court and then ratified by parliament.
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President Vladimir Putin has formally informed the Russian parliament of Crimea’s request to join the Russian Federation.
This is the first legislative step towards absorbing the peninsula.
Vladimir Putin, who signed a decree on Monday recognizing Crimea’s independence, also approved a draft bill on the accession.
The move comes after a referendum on Sunday in which Crimean officials say 97% of voters backed splitting from Ukraine.
The EU and the US have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions.
Travel bans and asset freezes have been imposed on government officials and other figures in Russia, Crimea and Ukraine.
Kiev has appealed to the international community not to recognise the result of the vote, which interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk described as a “circus” carried out at gunpoint.
On Tuesday, Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that “for the sake of preserving Ukraine’s unity and sovereignty”, Kiev was prepared to grant “the broadest range of powers” to Ukraine’s other mainly Russian-speaking regions in the south and east, which have seen pro-Moscow protests in recent weeks.
In a pre-recorded address on Ukraine’s 5 Kanal TV – delivered in Russian – Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the reforms would give cities the right to run their own police forces and make decisions about education and culture.
Vladimir Putin has formally informed the Russian parliament of Crimea’s request to join the Russian Federation
Crimea was taken over by pro-Russian forces in late February after Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia following months of protests.
However, Russia has always insisted the troops are not under its direct control.
Kiev is also concerned about a build-up of Russian troops on its eastern borders, and has authorized the partial mobilization of 40,000 troops.
President Vladimir Putin is due to address both houses of the Russian parliament in a special session at 15:00 local time. A delegation of Crimea’s new leaders is also expected to attend.
Russian news website Gazeta.ru, quoting sources, says that after the speech, President Vladimir Putin and the speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, are expected to sign an agreement on Crimea’s “entry into the Russian Federation”.
Having approved the draft bill, Vladimir Putin has told lawmakers “to consider it practical to sign the agreement at the highest level,” Russia’s Interfax news agency reports.
Once signed, the bill must be approved by the constitutional court and then ratified by parliament.
The process is likely to be completed this week, after which Crimea is expected to be considered a new part of the Russian Federation, with the status of a republic.
In a sign of the wider impact of the Crimean referendum, parliament in the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester announced on Tuesday that it too had appealed to Moscow for the right to join Russia, reports said.
Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine while under Soviet rule in 1954 and much of its population is ethnic Russian.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree recognizing Crimea as a sovereign and independent country.
The new decree is paving the way for Crimea to be absorbed into Russia.
It said it had taken into account Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, in which officials said 97% of voters backed breaking away from Ukraine.
The EU and the US said the referendum was illegal and imposed sanctions on 21 officials from Russia and Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree recognizing Crimea as a sovereign and independent country
Crimea was taken over by pro-Russian gunmen in late February.
The incursion came after Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia following months of street protests.
The Kremlin officially denies the gunmen are Russian soldiers, but concedes that lawmakers authorized President Vladimir Putin to use force after a formal plea for help from Viktor Yanukovych.
Crimea has been part of Ukraine since 1954, but much of its population is ethnic Russian.
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The EU and the US have imposed travel bans and asset freezes against a number of Russian and Ukrainian officials following the controversial referendum in Crimea.
The moves follow Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, in which officials say 97% of voters backed breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia.
The individuals targeted by the sanctions are seen as having played a key role in the referendum, which Kiev, the US and EU deem illegal.
Pro-Russian forces have been in control of Crimea since late February.
Moscow says the troops are pro-Russian self-defense forces and not under its direct control.
The EU and the US have imposed travel bans and asset freezes against a number of Russian and Ukrainian officials following the controversial referendum in Crimea
President Barack Obama said in a press conference that Washington stood “ready to impose further sanctions” depending on whether Russia escalated or de-escalated the situation in Ukraine.
If Moscow continued to intervene in Ukraine, Barack Obama warned, it would “achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia and diminish its place in the world”.
The EU published a list of sanctions against 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. The list includes the acting prime minister of Crimea, the speaker of Crimea’s parliament, three senior Russian commanders and several senior Russian parliamentary officials.
Selection of officials targeted:
- Dmitry Rogozin – Russian deputy PM (US)
- Valentina Matviyenko – head of Russia’s upper house (US)
- Sergei Aksyonov – acting PM of Crimea (US and EU)
- Vladimir Konstantinov – speaker of Crimean parliament (US and EU)
- Viktor Yanukovych – former Ukrainian president (US)
- Andrei Klishas – member of Russia’s upper house (US and EU)
- Leonid Slutsky – head of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) parliamentary committee in Russia (US and EU)
- Sergei Zheleznyak – deputy speaker of Russia’s state Duma (EU)
- Alexsandr Vitko – commander of Black Sea Fleet (EU) [youtube HRY6OyI5F0k 650]
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EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels are discussing the bloc’s response, including imposing a visa ban and an asset freeze against a number of Russian officials following Crimea’s controversial referendum on Sunday.
According to Crimean officials, Sunday’s referendum overwhelmingly backed leaving Ukraine.
Ukraine’s chief electoral official, Mikhail Malyshev, said the vote was nearly 97% in favor of joining the Russian Federation, with a turnout of 83%.
The EU has already suspended talks on an economic pact with Russia and an easing of visa restrictions.
The EU will impose a visa ban and an asset freeze against a number of Russian officials following Crimea’s controversial referendum
Speaking in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the “so-called referendum” was “illegal under the constitution of Ukraine and under international law”.
“I call upon Russia yet again to meet with Ukrainian leaders and to start a dialogue with them, and to try to move to de-escalation, please, as quickly as possible. We’ve seen no evidence of that,” Catherine Ashton told reporters.
The baroness said the EU “can’t simply sit back and say this situation can be allowed to happen”, but that ministers needed to think carefully about what their response should be.
The White House has also described Russia’s actions in Crimea as “dangerous and destabilizing”, and said the international community would not recognize the results of a poll “administered under threats of violence”.
President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that Washington is also ready to impose “costs” over its actions in Ukraine.
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Crimean parliament has formally declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation.
The move follows Sunday’s controversial referendum which officials say overwhelmingly backed joining Russia.
The government in Kiev has said it will not recognize the results. The US and EU say the vote was illegal and have vowed to impose sanctions on Moscow.
The Crimean peninsula has been under the control of pro-Russia forces since late February.
Moscow says the troops are pro-Russian self-defense forces and not under its direct control.
The crisis follows the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych on February 22, following months of street protests and deadly clashes.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has called the vote “a circus performance” which had been backed up by “21,000 Russian troops, who with their guns are trying to prove the legality of the referendum”.
Crimean parliament has formally declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation
The vote was boycotted by many among Crimea’s minority Ukrainian and Tatar population, and the election process has been widely criticized.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev has formally approved the partial mobilization of 40,000 reservists, in response to what it called the “war-time situation”.
Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov described the referendum as a “great farce” which “will never be recognized either by Ukraine or by the civilized world”.
According to the vote in Crimea’s parliament on Monday, Ukrainian laws now no longer apply in the region and all state Ukrainian state property belongs to an independent Crimea.
The region will adopt the Russian currency, the rouble, and will move to Moscow time – two hours ahead – by the end of March.
The document approved by Crimean lawmakers also appealed to “all countries of the world to recognise it as an independent state”.
The referendum on breaking from Ukraine and joining Russia was called in early March by the Crimean parliament, with voters asked to choose between joining Russia, or having greater autonomy within Ukraine.
There was no option for those who wanted the constitutional arrangements to remain unchanged.
Ukraine’s chief electoral official, Mikhail Malyshev, said the vote was 96.6% in favor of joining the Russian Federation, with a turnout of 83%.
Crimea’s Tatar population – about 12% of the population – said they would boycott the vote, fearing their lives would be worse under the Kremlin.
The Tatars were deported to Central Asia by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1944. They were only able to return with the fall of the Soviet Union and many want to remain in Ukraine.
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Crimea referendum showed support for a split from Ukraine with election officials saying that 96.6% of voters backed joining Russia.
The government in Kiev described the vote as a “circus performance” and said it would not recognize the result.
The EU and US say the referendum was illegal, but Russia says it was consistent with international law.
President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that Washington is also ready to impose “costs” over its actions in Ukraine.
Crimea PM Sergei Aksyonov celebrated referendum results
As polls closed on Sunday night, the White House said the international community “will not recognize the results of a poll administered under threats of violence”, describing Russia’s actions as “dangerous and destabilizing”.
The new authorities in Kiev say Russian troops moved in to Crimea after Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted following months of street protests.
Crimean leaders are expected to formally apply to the Kremlin on Monday to join Russia.
The Russian parliament had been expected to wait until Friday to begin debating the relevant legislation. It is now believed the process of absorbing Crimea could take place under existing laws.
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After half the votes have been counted, some 95.5% of voters in Crimea have supported joining Russia in a disputed referendum, officials announce.
Crimea’s leader Sergei Aksyonov says he will apply to join Russia on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will respect the Crimean people’s wishes.
Many Crimeans loyal to Kiev boycotted the referendum, and the EU and US condemned it as illegal.
Pro-Russian forces took control of Crimea in February.
Some 95.5 percent of voters in Crimea have supported joining Russia in a disputed referendum
They moved in after Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president was ousted by street protests.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama had spoken over the phone and agreed to seek a way to stabilize Ukraine.
Shortly after polling stations closed, however, the US renewed its threat to put sanctions on Russia.
White House spokesman Jay Carney condemned the vote as “dangerous and destabilizing” and said it would have “increasing costs for Russia”.
The EU said in a statement that the vote was “illegal and illegitimate and its outcome will not be recognized”.
EU foreign ministers are due to meet on Monday and are expected to consider imposing sanctions on Russian officials.
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People in Ukraine’s region Crimea are voting on whether or not to re-join Russia in a referendum condemned as “illegal” by Kiev and the West but backed by Moscow.
Russian troops have taken de facto control of the majority ethnic-Russian region, and voters are expected to support leaving Ukraine.
Crimean Tatars are boycotting the vote, pledging their allegiance to Kiev.
Russia earlier vetoed a draft UN resolution criticizing the vote – the only Security Council member to do so.
The US-drafted document was supported by 13 Council members. China, regarded as a Russian ally on the issue, abstained from the vote.
The US and EU have warned they would slap further tough sanctions against Russian officials if the referendum goes ahead.
Crimea are voting on whether or not to re-join Russia (photo AFP)
Russia intervened in the Crimean peninsula by seizing control of government buildings and blocking Ukraine’s troops at their bases after the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22.
However, the Kremlin officially denies deploying extra troops there, describing them as Crimea’s “self-defense forces”.
Polling stations across Crimea opened at 08:00 local time and will close 12 hours later.
Voters are being asked whether they would like Crimea to rejoin Russia.
A second question asks whether Ukraine should return to its status under the 1992 constitution, which would give the region much greater autonomy.
Some 1.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, and the first results are expected to be released shortly after the referendum.
Ethnic Russians form a clear majority in the region (58.5%), and many of them are expected to vote for joining Russia.
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The draft UN resolution criticizing Sunday’s secession referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region has been vetoed by Russia.
Russia is the only Security Council member to vote against the measure.
China, regarded as a Russian ally on the issue, abstained from the vote.
Western powers criticized Russia’s veto over the referendum, which will ask Crimeans if they want to rejoin Russia.
Meanwhile, Kiev has accused Russian forces of seizing a village just north of Crimea and demanded they withdraw.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said 80 military personnel backed by four helicopter gunships and three armored vehicles had taken the village of Strilkove.
An unnamed Russian official quoted by Pravda-Ukraine said they had taken action to protect a gas distribution station from “terrorist attacks”.
Russia intervened in the Crimean peninsula after the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22.
Russia’s envoy Vitaly Churkin told the Security Council he would vote against the resolution
The Crimean region was part of Russia until 1954 and most of its residents are ethnic Russians, many of whom would prefer to be governed by Moscow rather than Kiev.
Russia’s Black Sea fleet is also still housed in Crimea.
But Russia has signed agreements promising to uphold Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Crimea’s regional parliament instigated the secession referendum after lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to support rejoining Russia.
However, the national parliament in Kiev ruled the referendum unconstitutional, and earlier on Saturday voted to disband the regional assembly.
At the UN, 13 members of the Security Council backed a resolution that called for all nations to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemned the referendum as illegal.
Western diplomats had expected Russia to veto the document, but got what they wanted when China abstained.
China and Russia usually work in tandem at the Security Council.
But Beijing is sensitive about issues of territorial integrity, because of fears it could send a message to its own restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.
America’s UN envoy Samantha Power said it was a “sad and remarkable moment” and labeled Russia “isolated, alone and wrong”.
Samantha Power said Sunday’s referendum was “illegal, unjustified and divisive” and would have no effect on the legal status of Crimea.
Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin said the referendum was necessary to fill the “legal vacuum” since Ukraine’s “coup d’etat” last month.
Earlier in Moscow, tens of thousands rallied against Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the biggest such protest in two years.
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A huge rally is being held in Moscow to oppose Russia’s intervention in Ukraine a day before the region of Crimea votes to secede in favor of joining Russia.
Holding Russian and Ukrainian flags, protesters shouted: “The occupation of Crimea is Russia’s disgrace.”
A smaller pro-Moscow rally was being held elsewhere.
Moscow supports the vote, which Ukraine and the West have dismissed as illegal.
Kiev says Russian “provocateurs” are behind clashes eastern Ukraine.
Huge rally is being held in Moscow to oppose Russia’s intervention in Ukraine (photo AFP)
Three people have died in Ukraine in pro- and anti-Moscow rallies in the cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv with sides blaming each other.
Russia’s military intervention in the Crimean peninsula – part of Russia until 1954 and host to its Black Sea fleet – followed the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February.
Ukraine’s interim President Oleksandr Turchinov echoed the charge, saying “Kremlin agents” were organizing and funding the protests in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow denies this, vowing to protect its “compatriots” from far-right radicals.
Up to 50,000 people attended the rally in Moscow to oppose the government’s intervention in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
According to officials, two people have been killed in clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv.
Five people were injured overnight, as gunshots were fired. Rival groups blamed each other for the violence.
Earlier, Russia and the US failed to agree on how to resolve the crisis in Ukraine’s Crimea region, ahead of a secession referendum there.
Russia vowed to respect Sunday’s vote – but the US said it was illegitimate.
Moscow has been tightening its military grip on Crimea – the southern autonomous republic in Ukraine – where voters are to decide on whether to re-join Russia or stay with Kiev.
The violence reportedly began on Kharkiv’s Svoboda Square on Friday evening and later moved to an office of a pro-Ukrainian group in the city.
Two people have been killed in clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv
Eyewitnesses said that pro-Russian activists tried to storm the rival protesters, who had barricaded themselves in.
The witnesses said that shots had been fired and Molotov cocktails thrown in.
Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes was later quoted by Ukrainian media as saying that two people were killed and five injured.
Meanwhile, Kharkiv Governor Ihor Baluta called the incident “a provocation”.
Both rival groups blame each other for starting the clashes. A criminal investigation is now under way.
This follows Thursday night’s violence in Donetsk, also in the east, where at least one person died in fighting between a pro-Russian crowd and supporters of the new government in Kiev.
Ukraine accuses Russia of using provocateurs to stoke unrest on the eastern border. Moscow denies this, vowing to protect its “compatriots” from far-right radicals.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has announced that Russia and the US have “no common vision” on the crisis in Ukraine after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry in London.
However, Sergei Lavrov called his London meeting with John Kerry “constructive”.
John Kerry said the US was “deeply concerned” about Russia sending troops to the Ukraine border and in Crimea.
Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would respect the result of Sunday’s referendum in Crimea on whether to join Russia but John Kerry said the US would not recognize it.
After six hours of talks, Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russia had no plans to invade south-eastern Ukraine.
Russia would “respect the will of the people of Crimea”, he said.
Crimeans are to vote on Sunday, March 16, on whether to leave Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation.
John Kerry, who described the talks as “direct and candid”, said the US acknowledged Russia’s “legitimate interests” in Ukraine.
Russia and the US have no common vision on the Ukraine crisis
He said that the US had not changed its position on the “illegitimate” referendum in Crimea and would not recognize its outcome.
However, John Kerry said his Russian counterpart had made it clear that President Vladimir Putin was not prepared to make any decision until after the vote.
The secretary of state said that he had told Sergei Lavrov that there would be consequences if Russia “does not find a way to change course”.
Russia’s military intervention in the Crimean peninsula – part of Russia until 1954 and host to its Black Sea fleet – followed the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22.
Moscow has not recognized the interim government that took over in Kiev following Viktor Yanukovych’s departure.
Sergei Lavrov said that Russia had “deep concern” that there were “no measures” to provide security and order in Ukraine or to prevent the actions of “radicals”.
Thursday night saw clashes in Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk between a pro-Russian crowd and supporters of the new Kiev government, which left at least one person dead.
The US and the EU have said that Sunday’s vote in Crimea violates international law and the Ukrainian constitution, and are planning to impose sanctions against Russian officials if the crisis does not ease.
President Barack Obama also reiterated on Friday that there would be “consequences” if Ukraine’s “sovereignty continues to be violated”.
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More than 8,000 Russian troops have begun military exercises close to the border with Ukraine.
Russian defense ministry confirmed that artillery such as rocket launchers and anti-tank weapons would also be involved in the exercises.
They come at a time of high tension ahead of Crimea’s referendum on Sunday on whether to join Russia.
Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has told the UN Security Council his country is a victim of Russian aggression.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said it was “absolutely and entirely unacceptable, in the 21st Century, to resolve any kind of conflict with tanks artillery and boots on the ground”, in reference to Russian troops at key sites in Crimea.
Meanwhile, reports from the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk say at least one person has been killed and several wounded in clashes between hundreds of pro- and anti-Moscow demonstrators.
More than 8,000 Russian troops have begun military exercises close to the border with Ukraine
Russia confirmed that military exercises had begun in the regions of Rostov, Belgorod and Kursk, which are close to the border of Ukraine, and would continue until the end of March.
“The main aim… is a multi-faceted check of the units’ cohesiveness followed by the performance of battle training assignments in unfamiliar terrain and untested firing ranges,” the Russian defense ministry said.
In a sign the tension may be spreading, Belarus – a Russian ally – confirmed Moscow had deployed, at its request, extra fighter jets and military transport aircraft after Nato boosted its forces in the neighboring Baltic countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of his Security Council that this was an inter-Ukrainian crisis that “arose not through our fault, but we are involved in it, one way or another”.
He said he wanted to discuss how to “build relations with our partners and friends in Ukraine and our other partners in Europe and the United States”.
Separately, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Russia had now given its support to a possible long-term monitoring mission in Ukraine.
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Ukraine’s parliament has passed a bill to create a 60,000-strong National Guard to bolster the country’s defenses ahead of Crimea referendum.
The vote came ahead of Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, now controlled by pro-Russian forces, on whether citizens want to join Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists Russia is not to blame for the crisis.
Ukraine’s parliament has voted to create a 60,000-strong National Guard to bolster the country’s defences
Meanwhile Germany’s Angela Merkel says Moscow faces “massive” political and economic damage if it refuses to change course. The US has also threatened action.
Russia was exploiting the weakness of neighboring Ukraine, rather than acting as a partner for stability, the German chancellor said on Thursday, adding that there was no military solution to the crisis.
The Russian military and pro-Russian armed men moved in to seize key sites in Crimea – an autonomous region of Ukraine whose population is mainly ethnic Russian – in late February after the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych.
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Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk met President Barack Obama at the White House.
During their meeting, Barack Obama pledged to “stand with Ukraine” in its dispute with Russia.
The US president warned Russian President Vladimir Putin the international community “will be forced to apply costs” if Russia does not remove its troops from Crimea.
Earlier, leaders of the G7 group of nations issued a similar threat.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaking after meeting Barack Obama, said Ukraine “will never surrender” to Russia.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to have Russian boots on the Ukrainian ground in the 21st century, violating all international deals and treaties,” he said.
The diplomatic appeals to Moscow come ahead of Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, in which citizens will be asked if they want to stay with Ukraine or join Russia.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk met President Barack Obama at the White House
The Russian military and pro-Russian armed men moved in to seize key sites in Crimea – an autonomous region of Ukraine whose population is mainly ethnic Russian – in late February after the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych.
Barack Obama said the US has “been very clear that we consider Russia’s incursion into Crimea outside of its bases to be a violation of international law”.
“We have been very firm in saying we will stand with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in ensuring that territorial integrity and sovereignty is maintained,” he added.
In reference to scheduled talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in London on Friday, Barack Obama said he hoped diplomatic efforts will result in a “rethinking of the process”.
But he stressed that if Moscow “continues on the path that it is on then, not only us, but the international community… will be forced to apply a cost to Russia’s violations of international law and its encroachments on Ukraine”.
The president did not specify what those costs would be, but Washington has already issued visa bans to some high-profile Russians and threatened asset freezes for others.
Barack Obama also said the US “will completely reject” the results of Crimea’s referendum, saying it had been put together in a “slapdash” way.
As Barack Obama and Arseniy Yatsenyuk were holding talks, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to authorize $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine’s new government and allow the US to impose sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian officials.
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The G7 leaders have called on Russia to stop all efforts to “annex” Ukraine’s Crimea region.
G7 said if Russia took such a step they would “take further action, individually and collectively”.
They also said they would not recognize the results of a referendum in Crimea this weekend on whether to split from Ukraine and join Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s national security chief has warned of a major Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.
Andriy Parubiy said Moscow had not withdrawn its troops after carrying out military exercises near Ukraine’s eastern and southern frontiers last month.
The Group of Seven industrial nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US – along with the EU urged Russia to “cease all efforts to change the status of Crimea”.
G7 said Crimea’s referendum has no legal effect as it is in direct violation of Ukraine’s constitution
“In addition to its impact on the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea could have grave implications for the legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all states,” they said in a statement released by the White House.
They said Sunday’s referendum, asking the people of Crimea if they want to be a part of Russia or Ukraine, has “no legal effect” as it is in “direct violation” of Ukraine’s constitution.
“Given the lack of adequate preparation and the intimidating presence of Russian troops, it would also be a deeply flawed process which would have no moral force.”
The leaders repeated their calls for Russia to de-escalate the crisis by withdrawing its troops, talking directly with Kiev and using international mediators to “address any legitimate concerns it may have”.
US Secretary of State John Kerry says he has been asked by President Barack Obama to travel to London for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.
“Our job is to present them with a series of options that are appropriate in order to try to respect the people of Ukraine, international law and the interests of all concerned,” John Kerry told the House Appropriations Committee on Foreign Operations.
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Russian government is refusing all negotiations with Ukraine, Ukrainian acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has said.
Oleksandr Turchynov told AFP news agency that Ukraine would not intervene militarily in Crimea, even though a secession referendum there was a “sham”.
Meanwhile interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk is travelling to the US to meet President Barack Obama.
On Thursday Arseniy Yatsenyuk is due to address the UN Security Council in New York.
“We cannot launch a military operation in Crimea, as we would expose the eastern border [close to Russia] and Ukraine would not be protected,” Oleksandr Turchynov told AFP.
Ukraine would not intervene militarily in Crimea, even though a secession referendum there was a sham
He said that Sunday’s referendum in Crimea – in which people on the peninsula will decide whether or not to become part of Russia – was “a provocation” that would be boycotted by most people.
“The Russian forces don’t intend to hold a referendum, they’re just going to falsify the results,” he said.
Oleksandr Turchynov said that at the same time the Russian government was refusing to enter into any dialogue with Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, for now Russia is rejecting a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” he told AFP.
Oleksandr Turchynov earlier on Tuesday called for the creation of a national guard and provide support to troops.
He said that the force would include volunteers with military experience who would be on guard against external and internal aggression.
Oleksandr Turchynov was speaking as Moscow announced more military exercises involving 4,000 paratroopers – apparently the biggest such exercise in 20 years.
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Secretary of State John Kerry has declined an offer of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin until Moscow engages with US proposals to tackle the crisis in Ukraine.
John Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Moscow’s military intervention in Crimea had made any negotiations extremely difficult.
US officials say there will be little to talk about if the referendum on Crimea’s future goes ahead.
John Kerry has declined an offer of talks with Vladimir Putin until Moscow engages with US proposals to tackle the crisis in Ukraine (photo AP)
The referendum is to be held on Sunday.
Ukraine and the Western countries say that the vote is illegal.
Russia said on Monday it was drafting counter-proposals to a US plan for a negotiated solution to the crisis.
Moscow has condemned Ukraine’s new Western-backed government as an unacceptable “fait accompli” – it says that Russian-leaning parts of the country have been turned into havens of lawlessness.
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NATO has decided to deploy reconnaissance planes in Poland and Romania to monitor the Ukrainian crisis.
It gave the go-ahead for the flights on Monday, a Nato spokesman said.
“All AWACS [Airborne Warning and Control System] reconnaissance flights will take place solely over alliance territory,” the official said.
The NATO move comes as Russia cements its control of Ukraine’s Crimea ahead of Sunday’s referendum to join Russia. Ukraine and the West say this is illegal.
In the latest move on Monday, armed men – said to be Russian troops and local militias – seized a military hospital in Crimea.
NATO will deploy reconnaissance planes in Poland and Romania to monitor the Ukrainian crisis
The attackers marched into the hospital in the regional capital Simferopol, threatening staff and some 30 patients.
Pro-Russian troops are also blockading Ukrainian troops across Crimea, which is an autonomous region.
Moscow has officially denied that its troops are taking part in the blockades, describing the armed men with no insignia as Crimea’s “self-defense” forces.
The new government in Kiev – as well as the US and EU – accuse Russia of invading Ukraine, in violation of international law.
NATO said the surveillance flights would “enhance the alliance’s situational awareness”.
Last week, the organization said it was reviewing all co-operation with Russia and stepping up its engagement with the government in Kiev.
NATO’s announcement on Monday came hours after men in military uniforms broke into the Simferopol hospital, where Ukrainian soldiers and veterans were being treated.
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Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have held rival pro-unity and pro-Russian rallies, as Moscow continues to strengthen its grip on Crimea.
Pro-Russia supporters beat up their opponents in Sevastopol, Crimea.
In the eastern city of Luhansk, pro-Russian activists seized regional offices forcing the governor to resign.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK’s PM David Cameron telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge him to pull back from Crimea. The region is to vote to secede on March 16.
Addressing a huge crowd in Kiev to mark the 200th birth anniversary of national poet Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk pledged not to give a “single centimetre” of Ukrainian land to the Kremlin.
Ukraine’s defence minister has said Kiev has no plans to send the army to Crimea.
In the eastern city of Donetsk, pro-Russian protesters take down a Ukrainian flag near the regional government building, replacing it with a Russian flag.
Pro-Russian rally in Simferopol, Crimea
In Kharkiv, also in the east, some 10,000 people reportedly march to support Ukraine’s unity, chanting “No to war!” and “Ukraine, Kharkiv, Crimea!”.
Russia’s ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade behind bars, accuses Moscow of being complicit with Ukraine’s ousted government in using deadly violence against protesters
In Yevpatoriya, western Crimea, pro-Russian forces threaten to storm the command point of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile unit if the personnel there do not surrender their weapons.
In Sevastopol, the violence erupted when pro-Russian groups attacked dozens of people guarding a rally to commemorate Taras Shevchenko.
The crowd threw missiles at a car as the activists tried to flee the scene, smashing windows.
Some of the attackers were Russian Cossacks with whips.
The rally was attended by about 200 people.
A rival pro-Russian demonstration was also staged in the city – the base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
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