'BRINK OF DISASTER'
Russia's actions 'declaration of war,' Kiev says
- Acting PM urges Russia to "pull back the military"
- Russian troops at 3 Crimea military bases, official says
- No confirmation by Moscow
- U.S. Secretary of State condemns "incredible act of aggression"
UKRAINE IN CRISIS
- What's Putin's strategy in Ukraine?
- Opinion: Putin's move could cost U.S.
- Cold War-style conflict hits Crimea
- Russia approves military force
- What pro-Russian citizens fear
- Kiev vows to defend sovereignty
- Putin, Obama disagree on Ukraine
- Mystery men or Russian military?
- Map of divisions | Share your story
Ukraine mobilizes troops after Russia's 'declaration of war'
March 2, 2014 -- Updated 1605 GMT (0005 HKT)
A Maidan self-defense unit member
stands in support of Ukraine in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on
March 2. Ukraine's shaky new government mobilized troops and called up
military reservists Sunday amid signs of Russian military intervention
in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, even as the defense minister said Kiev
stood no chance against Russian troops in a rapidly escalating crisis
that has raised fears of a conflict.
HIDE CAPTION
Ukraine in transition
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Ukraine ambassador to UN says his nation will need military support
- Ukrainian PM says Russian actions are "a declaration of war"
- Putin says Russia reserves the right to defend its interests and people
- Kerry condemns Russia's "incredible act of aggression," warns of economic results
Amid signs of Russian
military intervention in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Russian generals
led their troops to three bases in the region Sunday, demanding
Ukrainian forces surrender and hand over their weapons, Vladislav
Seleznyov, spokesman for the Crimean Media Center of the Ukrainian
Defense Ministry, told CNN.
Speaking by phone, he
said Russian troops had blocked access to the bases, but added, "There
is no open confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian military forces
in Crimea" and said Ukrainian troops continue to protect and serve
Ukraine.
"This is a red alert.
This is not a threat. This is actually a declaration of war to my
country," Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
Speaking in a televised
address from the parliament building in the capital, Kiev, he called on
Russian President Vladimir Putin to "pull back his military and stick to
the international obligations."
"We are on the brink of the disaster."
Russia OKs military force in Ukraine
Kiev: Russia's move is direct aggression
A sense of escalating
crisis in Crimea -- an autonomous region of eastern Ukraine with strong
loyalty to neighboring Russia -- swirled with U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry condemning what he called Russia's "incredible act of
aggression."
Speaking on the CBS
program "Face The Nation," Kerry said several foreign powers are looking
at economic consequences if Russia does not withdraw its forces.
"All of them, every
single one of them are prepared to go to the hilt in order to isolate
Russia with respect to this invasion," he said. "They're prepared to put
sanctions in place, they're prepared to isolate Russia economically."
But Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations said his country needs more than diplomatic assistance.
"We are to demonstrate
that we have our own capacity to protect ourselves ... and we are
preparing to defend ourselves," Yuriy Sergeyev said on CNN's "State of
the Union." "And nationally, if aggravation is going in that way, when
the Russian troops ... are enlarging their quantity with every coming
hour ... we will ask for military support and other kinds of support."
In Brussels, Belgium, NATO ambassadors held an emergency meeting on Ukraine.
"What Russia is doing
now in Ukraine violates the principles of the U.N. charter," NATO
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters.
"Russia must stop its
military activities and threats," Rasmussen said. "We support Ukraine's
territorial integrity and sovereignty. ... We support the rights of the
people of Ukraine to determine their own future without outside
interference."
Lean to the West, or to Russia?
Ukraine, a nation of 45
million people sandwiched between Europe and Russia's southwestern
border, has been plunged into chaos since the ouster a week ago of of
President Viktor Yanukovych following bloody street protests that left
dozens dead and hundreds wounded.
Anti-government protests
started in late November when Yanukovych spurned a deal with the EU,
favoring closer ties with Moscow instead.
Ukraine has faced a
deepening split, with those in the west generally supporting the interim
government and its European Union tilt, while many in the east prefer a
Ukraine where Russia casts a long shadow.
Nowhere is that feeling
more intense than in Crimea, the last big bastion of opposition to the
new political leadership. Ukraine suspects Russia of fomenting tension
in the autonomous region that might escalate into a bid for separation
by its Russian majority.
Ukrainian leaders and
commentators have compared events in Crimea to what happened in Georgia
in 2008. Then, cross-border tensions with Russia exploded into a
five-day conflict that saw Russian tanks and troops pour into the
breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as Georgian
cities. Russia and Georgia each blamed the other for starting the
conflict.
Escalating crisis
The crisis in Ukraine
appeared to hit a boiling point after Putin obtained permission Saturday
from his parliament to use military force to protect Russian citizens
in Ukraine, spurning Western pleas not to intervene.
Masked gunmen occupy Crimea
Ukranian airspace shut down amid crisis
Putin cited in his
request a threat posed to the lives of Russian citizens and military
personnel based in southern Crimea. Ukrainian officials have vehemently
denied Putin's claim.
The vote came as the
newly installed pro-Russian leader of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, asked
Putin for help in maintaining peace on the Black Sea peninsula, where
Russia's fleet is based at Sevastopol. Security forces "are unable to
efficiently control the situation in the republic," he said in comments
broadcast on Russian state channel Russia 24. Aksyonov was installed as
the region's premier after armed men took over the Crimean parliament
building on Thursday.
Aksyonov said that a referendum on greater Crimean autonomy, originally set for May 25, would be moved to March 30.
At a Ukrainian
parliamentary meeting Sunday, acting Defense Minister Ihor Tenyuh said
Ukraine does not have the military force to resist Russia, according to
two parliamentary members present at the session. Tenyuh called for
talks to resolve the crisis with Russia, they said.
The Ukrainian National
Security Council has ordered the mobilization of troops and the Defense
Ministry was calling for reservists to register to be on standby if
needed, a senior Ukrainian official, Andriy Parubiy, said.
Men dressed in both
civilian and camouflage gear and wearing red armbands could be seen on
the streets of the regional capital, Simferopol.
At Ukraine's Perevalnoye
base, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Simferopol, a CNN team saw
more than 100 troops -- not Ukrainian and dressed in black with no
identifiable insignia -- deployed around its perimeter, as well as a
dozen or so vehicles. Some 15 Ukrainian soldiers were on guard while
civilians, both pro-Russia and pro-Ukraine protesters, stood on each
side of the road.
In Kiev, thousands of
people rallied in the central Independence Square, cradle of Ukraine's
three-month anti-government protests that led to Yanukovych's ouster
last week. The crowd held up signs reading "Crimea, we are with you" and "Putin, hands off Ukraine."
In Moscow, about 50 protesters were detained outside a Defense Ministry building, a Moscow police spokesman said.
According to a tweet
from the official Russian government account Sunday, Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev discussed the crisis in Ukraine in a telephone
call with Yatsenyuk. According to a second tweet, Medvedev said Russia
is interested in maintaining stable and friendly relations with Ukraine
but reserves the right to protect the legitimate interests of its
citizens and military personnel stationed in Crimea.
Western governments worried
The crisis set off alarm bells in the West.
In discussions over the
weekend with Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama "made clear that
Russia's continued violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial
integrity would negatively impact Russia's standing in the international
community," according to a statement released by the White House.
According to the
Kremlin, Putin told Obama that Russia reserves the right to defend its
interests in the Crimea region and the Russian-speaking people who live
there.
Canada recalled its
ambassador to Moscow, while the United States and Britain announced they
will suspend participation in preparatory meetings this week ahead of
the G8 summit that will bring world leaders together in June in Sochi,
Russia. France said it made the same decision.
Addressing the crowds in
St. Peter Square, Pope Francis called for prayers for Ukraine, which he
said was "living a delicate situation."
Pressure has been
mounting on Russia as leaders from the EU and the UK joined an
international outcry, with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton
deploring Russia's "unwarranted escalation of tensions."
CNN's Victoria Eastwood and Diana Magnay
reported from Simferopol, Ukraine; Ian Lee, Ingrid Formanek and Victoria
Butenko from Kiev, while Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Steve Almasy wrote
from London. CNN's Chelsea J. Carter, Bharati Naik, Richard Roth, Laura
Smith-Spark, Tom Watkins, Sara Mazloumsaki, Alla Eshchenko, Arkady
Irshenko, Radina Gigova and journalist Azad Safarov contributed to this
report.
COPY http://edition.cnn.com/
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