Russia continues ‘dark path’ as they seize Ukraine naval base in Crimea, raise their flag
Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol and raised their flag on Wednesday. Russia has moved quickly to make Crimea part of Russia after the overwhelming vote last week.
Vladimir Putin photo Russian Presidential Press and Information Office www.kremlin.ru. via wikimedia commons
“This morning they stormed the compound. They cut the gates open, but I heard no shooting,” said Oleksander Balanyuk, a captain in the navy, walking out of the compound in his uniform and carrying his belongings.
“This thing should have been solved politically. Now all I can do is stand here at the gate. There is nothing else I can do,” he told Reuters.
This move, like others, is being denounced by the US.
“As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation,” said U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, referring to reports of armed attacks against Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea.
Biden was in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, part of a quick trip to reassure Baltic allies worried about what an emboldened Russia might mean for their nations. Lithuania, along with Estonia and Latvia, are NATO members.
“There is an attempt, using brutal force, to redraw borders of the European states and to destroy the post-war architecture of Europe,” Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon meets Putin in Moscow on Thursday and travels to Kiev on Friday. He will urge a peaceful end to a crisis that began when Ukraine’s president abandoned a trade pact with the European Union and turned instead to Moscow, prompting violent street protests that led to his overthrow.
