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Putin asks senate to endorse use
of military as Russian forces tighten their grip on Crimea
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“Reuters have reported that Ukraine’s
acting president has called an emergency meeting of security chiefs on
Saturday.Oleksander Turchinov summoned his…”
Latest developments
Russian soldiers guard the Crimean
parliament building on Saturday next to a sign that reads: "Crimea
Russia". Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Reuters have reported that Ukraine’s acting president has called an emergency meeting of security chiefs on Saturday. Oleksander
Turchinov summoned his Security Council after Russian President
Vladimir Putin sought parliamentary approval to deploy Russian forces in
the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
According to Russia Today, the international affairs committee of the upper house, the federation council has
recommended senators approve deploying Russian troops to Ukraine.
The Russian upper house has not yet voted on Putin’s proposal although all the speeches made so far are supportive.
The upper house of the Russian parliament unanimously approved
President Putin’s request to use armed forces in defence of Russians and
Russian interests, anywhere in the territory of Ukraine.
Summary
Putin ask for right to use armed forces in Ukraine.
Ukrainians accuse Russia of refusing dialogue.
European foreign ministers urge Russia to respect sovereignty of Ukraine and help reduce tension.
Pro-Russian demonstrations take place in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Odessa and other towns.
Reports of Russian troops attempting to take Ukrainian bases in Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the upper house of
parliament to approve sending armed forces to Ukraine’s Crimea region,
the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday. “In connection with the
extraordinary situation in Ukraine, the threat to the lives of citizens
of the Russian Federation, our compatriots, and the personnel of the
armed forces of the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory (in the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea) ... I submit a proposal on using the
armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine until
the normalisation of the socio-political situation in the that
country,” the statement said.
Reuters
Pictures suggest Russian army moving into Crimean city of Balaclava
where there have been reports of Russian troops trying to take a naval
base.
According to Interfax, there was also a pro-Russian demonstration in
Odessa with between 5,000 to 20,000 participants, some armed with
clubs.
Ukraine has accused Russia of refusing to hold talks with Ukraine.
Ukraine had asked for consultations with Moscow after accusing it of
deploying its military in the Crimea region, according to Reuters. “We are very worried about today’s information that Russia has refused to take part,” said foreign minister Andrij Deshchitsya.
Football club ban
Ukrainian Pravda report that Ukrainian football clubs could be
banned from international competitions after the Ukrainian Football
Union was taken over by a militia, believed to be connected to Dynamo
Kiev.
Political organisations are banned from interfering with the affairs of football according to Fifa and Uefa regulations.
Updated
Unian news agency report dozens of injuries
in Kharkiv after a car drove into “Euromaidan” demonstrators who were
opposing pro-Russian demonstrators outside the parliament.
It’s difficult to gauge what has happened in Kharhiv and Donestsk.
Some commentators have posted scenes of an empty square in Donetsk,
suggesting the demonstrators were only paid for short time.
Reuters and other agencies reporting
UKRAINE’S ACTING PRESIDENT SIGNS DECREE RULING THAT APPOINTMENT OF PRO-RUSSIA PREMIER IN CRIMEA IS ILLEGAL
Crimean police have rejected the claim made by the Russian foreign ministry in Russia Today that
troops sent by Kiev tried to capture the interior ministry in
Semferopol. According to Unian news agency, there was no shooting or
clashes of any kind nor any attempt to blockade the building.
Updated
Reuters report that Ukraine is unlikely to receive financial
assistance from the International Monetary Fund before April according
to Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksander Shlapak.
Ukraine, which
faces a further $6 billion in foreign debt payments this year, has asked
the IMF for financial assistance of at least $15 billion. An IMF team
is expected in Kiev next week.
Protests and clashes in Ukrainian cities
Updated
According to various Russian and Ukrainian reports, the crisis is
spreading from Crimea to other parts of the Ukraine. There are reports
that pro-Russian demonstrators in Donestsk and Kharkiv have attempted to
take parliament buildings.
Raid on naval base
Kiev-based Unian report some more worrying developments.
The
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said that about 300 soldiers are
trying to capture a Sevastopol naval bases. Ukrainian ships have ordered
to sea.
It is not clear if weapons are being fired or if there are any injuries.
Updated
Diplomatic activity
Following the statement of Fabius, the German and British foreign ministers have weighed in.
German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned on Saturday that
developments in Ukraine over the past few hours were dangerous and urged
Russia to explain its intentions regarding its troops in the Crimea
region.
“The situation in Crimea in particular has become
considerably more acute. Whoever pours more oil onto the flames now,
with words or actions, is consciously aiming for further escalation of
the situation. Everything Russia does in Crimea must be in keeping with
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and treaties on
Russia’s Black Sea fleet. We are holding the Russian government to its
public statements on this. And this entails also that Russia provides
without delay complete transparency over the movements of its troops in
Crimea, as well as its goals and intentions behind these.”
William
Hague, the British foreign secretary, has spoken to Sergei Lavrov, his
Russian counterpart and urged Russia to respect Ukrainian sovereignty
and help de-escalate the situation.
Updated
Some images from Ukraine today. Life goes on. A newly married couple kiss
under the statue of Lenin in Simferopol on Saturday. Photograph: DAVID
MDZINARISHVILI/REUTERSDemonstrators in Independence Square in Kiev
hold placards, "Crimea is Ukraine" during a rally on Saturday.
Photograph: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, has said it is
concerned about the reports of troop movements and urged all sides in
Crimea to refrain from acts that could increase tension.
In spite of the claims of normality, Kiev’s Unian agency report that
armed have taken over the council of trade unions in Simferopol which
is close to the government building.
Pravda reports that the speaker of the supreme council of Crimea
Vladimir Konstantinov has said that the situation in Crimea will be
normalised and guards will leave the boundaries of the parliament.
Konstantinov said that barricades will be dismantled and he intended to address issues such as the economy, wages and pensions.
In Moscow, Reuters reports that the Duma, has asked President
Vladimir Putin to take measures to stabilise the situation in Ukraine’s
Crimea.
Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of the Duma, said “The Duma
Council adopted an appeal to the president of Russia, in which
parliamentarians are calling on the president to take measures to
stabilise the situation in Crimea and use all available means to protect
the people of Crimea from tyranny and violence.”
I have just spoken to Harriet Salem, our correspondent in Simferopol
in Crimea, who is currently in a local McDonalds availing herself of
the free wi-fi.
I have just
travelled from Sevastopol to Simferopol. There was little sign of
tension. Mostly people are just going about their business. There were
blockades outside of Sevastopol manned by armed civilians with
motorbikes parked nearby but there was no problem passing through.
Ukraine to lose Russian gas discount
Here’s more from Reuters on Gazprom.
Ukraine
may lose a discount to the gas price it now pays to Russia’s state gas
company Gazprom due to Kiev’s outstanding gas debt, Gazprom spokesman
Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters on Saturday. In December, Russia
agreed to reduce gas prices for Kiev by about a third, to $268.50 per
1,000 cubic metres from around $400 which Ukraine had paid since 2009,
after ousted President Viktor Yanukovich spurned an EU trade deal in
favour of closer ties to Moscow. Kupriyanov said Ukraine’s outstanding gas debt stood at $1.55 billion for 2013 and gas deliveries so far this year. “It
seems that with such gas payments and fulfilment of its obligations
Ukraine may not keep its current gas discount. The gas discount
agreement assumed full and timely payment,” he said. The deal allowed for the price to be revised quarterly between the 5th and 10th day of the first month every quarter.
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