Ultimatum Given To Ukrainian Forces Based In Crimea

Ultimatum Given To Ukrainian Forces Based In Crimea

An ultimatum was reportedly issued by Russia to Ukrainian forces based in Crimea to surrender by Tuesday or face military action. The commander the Black Sea Fleet, Alexander Vitko, issued the ultimatum.

The Interfax agency of Russia indicated that Ukrainian forces based in Crimea were asked to surrender or an assault will be launched against them in Crimea. However, a representative from the Russian Ministry of Defense indicated the ultimatum was not true.

A military base close to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, was surrounded by Russian forces, trapping Ukrainian forces inside.

A number of border check points along the border between Crimea and Russia were also captured by Russian forces. The defense ministry of Ukraine indicated that it sent an interceptor aircraft after two Russian jets violated the air space of the country in the Black Sea.

Jen Psaki, US State Department spokeswoman said the US was taking sanctions against Russia into consideration. The US is also likely to put the sanctions into place and is currently preparing for the situation.

On the other hand, ambassador of the US to the UN, Samantha Power, informed the US Security Council that the actions of Russia violated international law. She said the troop deployment of Russia has no legal basis and the crisis can be resolved through discussions between Russia and Ukraine.

Emergency talks are set to be held by NATO following a request by Poland.

The latest developments came as Russian forces conducted combat-readiness exercises in northwest Russia. The increasing tension in Ukraine was discussed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and Vice President Joe Biden of the US.

Medvedev indicated the importance of protecting the interest of the citizen of Ukraine, including the citizens of Russia based in Ukraine. He also said that Russia will continue its plans of building a bridge that will link Crimea with Russia.

The crisis along with the reported ultimatum against Ukrainian forces based in Crimea affected international stock markets as the stock exchange in Moscow declined by over ten percent recently.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday March 05 2014, 4:37 AM EST. Ref: News Sky. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0