Ukraine warns Moscow against Russian military movements in Crimea

Reuters
February 27, 2014

Image: Russian Tank (Wikimedia Commons).

Ukraine said on Thursday it would regard any movements by Russian military in Crimea outside the Russian Black Sea fleet’s base in Sevastopol as an act of aggression.

Acting President Oleksander Turchinov issued the warning in the national parliament after armed men seized the regional government and parliament buildings in Crimea, where some ethnic Russians want the region to join the Russian Federation.

Turchinov, who is also the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, appealed for Moscow to adhere to the rules of an agreement which allows Russia’s Black Sea fleet to be based in Sevastopol until 2042.

“I am appealing to the military leadership of the Russian Black Sea fleet … Any military movements, the more so if they are with weapons, beyond the boundaries of this territory (the base) will be seen by us as military aggression,” he declared.

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