Ukraine bows to Crimea seizure, plans for pullout
SEVASTOPOL, Crimea (AP) —
Surrendering to Russia’s inexorable seizure of Crimea, Ukraine announced
plans Wednesday for mass troop withdrawals from the strategic peninsula
as Moscow-loyal forces seized control of Kiev’s naval headquarters here
and detained its commander.
Attempting to face down the
unblinking incursion, Ukraine said it would hold joint military
exercises with the United States and Britain.
Hours after masked
Russian-speaking troops forced their way onto Ukraine’s main naval base
here, forlorn Ukrainian soldiers streamed out carrying clothing and
other belongings in bags. A group of local militia and Cossacks, later
joined by officers from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, looked on.
Just how many retreating troops
Ukraine will have to absorb was unclear as many servicemen in Crimea
have already switched sides to Russia, but authorities say it was
prepared to relocate as many as 25,000 soldiers and their families.
Humbled but defiant, Ukraine
lashed out symbolically at Russia by declaring its intent to leave the
Moscow-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of
11 former Soviet nations. The last nation to leave the group was
Georgia, which lost a brief war with neighboring Russia in 2008 and
ended up losing two separatist territories.
Vice President Joe Biden, in
Lithuania trying to reassure nations bordering Russia alarmed by the
sight of an expansion-minded neighbor, said the U.S. would stand by
them.
‘‘We’re in this with you, together,’’ Biden said.
Ukraine has been powerless to
prevent Russian troops from taking control of Crimea, which President
Vladimir Putin formally annexed Tuesday with the stroke of a pen.
Crimea’s absorption came after a hastily organized referendum in which
the population overwhelmingly, albeit under conditions akin to martial
law, voted in favor of seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia.
Russia’s Constitutional Court
chairman, Valery Zorkin, said Wednesday the treaty signed by Putin has
been ruled valid, meaning it now only requires ratification by the
Russian parliament.
On Wednesday morning, militiamen
under apparent Russian command barged their way into Ukraine’s naval
headquarters in Sevastopol, detaining the head of Ukraine’s navy and
seizing the facility. The incursion, which Ukraine’s Defense Ministry
described as being led by a self-described local defense force, Cossacks
and ‘‘aggressive women,’’ proceeded with no resistance.
Upon gaining entrance to the base, the storming party raised a Russian flag on the headquarters square.
The unarmed militiamen waited for
an hour on the square and, following the arrival of the commander of the
Russian Black Sea Fleet, they took over the building.
By afternoon, they were in full control of the naval headquarters, a set of three-story white concrete buildings with blue trim.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry
said Rear Adm. Sergei Haiduk was detained and a news agency close to the
Russian-backed local authorities reported that he had been summoned for
questioning by prosecutors.
Later in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the Crimean authorities to release Haiduk.
Andriy Parubiy, secretary of
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the government was
drawing up plans to evacuate its outnumbered troops from Crimea back to
the mainland and will seek U.N. support to turn the peninsula into a
demilitarized zone.
‘‘We are working out a plan of
action so that we can transfer not just servicemen, but first of all
members of their family who are in Crimea, quickly and effectively to
mainland Ukraine,’’ Parubiy said.
Parubiy also announced Ukraine
would hold military maneuvers with the United States and Britain,
signatories, along with Russia, of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. He
provided no details.
The document was designed to
guarantee Ukraine’s territorial integrity when it surrendered its share
of Soviet nuclear arsenals to Russia after the Soviet Union broke up in
1991. Ukraine has accused Russia of breaching the agreement by taking
over the Crimean Peninsula.
In Washington, the Pentagon said
it would participate as planned in a multinational military exercise
this summer in Ukraine. Dubbed ‘‘Rapid Trident,’’ the ground maneuvers
have been held annually for a number of years with forces from Britain
and other NATO countries as well as Ukraine, which has a partner
relationship with NATO but is not a member.
The Pentagon gave no details on
the number of U.S. forces expected to participate or when the exercises
would be held. Last year, the two-week maneuvers involving 17 nations
were held in July.
Meanwhile, in a warning to Moscow,
Biden declared that the United States will respond to any aggression
against its NATO allies, including neighbors to Russia.
Standing with two Baltic leaders
in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Biden said the U.S. was ‘‘absolutely
committed’’ to defending its allies, adding that President Barack Obama
plans to seek concrete commitments from NATO members to ensure the
alliance can safeguard its collective security.
‘‘Russia cannot escape the fact
that the world is changing and rejecting outright their behavior,’’
Biden said after meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite
and Latvian President Andris Berzins.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
was headed to the region to try to resolve the crisis. He was to meet
with Russian leaders in Moscow on Thursday, followed by talks Friday
with Ukraine’s new government on Friday.
Ban has repeatedly called for a
solution guided by the principles of the U.N. Charter including
sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine.
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end quote from:| Boston.com | - |
SEVASTOPOL,
Crimea (AP) - Surrendering to Russia's inexorable seizure of Crimea,
Ukraine announced plans Wednesday for mass troop withdrawals from the
strategic peninsula as Moscow-loyal forces seized control of Kiev's
naval headquarters here ...
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