Large
contingents of Russian troops reportedly massed at the crossing between the
Crimean peninsula and eastern Ukraine Monday, in preparation for a possible
attack.
The Russian army already has approval from its parliament to operate in
Ukraine, and the Russian media have been reporting for days about Ukrainian
“provocations” and assaults on Russian civilians that necessitate a Russian
response.
The
United States on Monday suspended all military engagements with Russia because
of the crisis in Ukraine, including military exercises and port visits. The
announcement from the Pentagon came hours after President Barack Obama warned
the U.S. government will look at a series of economic and diplomatic sanctions
that would isolate Moscow.
"We
call on Russia to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine and for Russian forces in
Crimea to return to their bases," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John
Kirby said in a statement.
The
U.S. military does not take such steps lightly and took no such action, for
example, last year during turmoil in Egypt that saw the army topple the
country's first freely elected leader.
At
noon Monday, members of Crimea’s pro-Russian militia blocked the road leading
to the military airport in southern Crimea, overlooking the Black Sea. A
significant portion of Ukraine’s air force is stationed there, including MiG-29
fighters, transport planes and seaplanes. The Ukrainian soldiers refused to
hand over the airport and its planes to the Russians and barricaded part of the
base. But militia members denied that a Russian-Ukrainian standoff was taking
place.
“We’re
conducting an exercise there,” said one. “We’re simply making sure fascist
terrorists don’t come here,” said another.
No comments:
Post a Comment