In Kiev, Armed and Masked Men Protect Parliament
This morning, a cluster of masked men with assault rifles gathered at the door leading into Ukraines parliament. Veterans of the war in Afghanistan, they played an important role in the fortifications that protected the protesters in Kievs central square who ousted President Viktor Yanukovych last month. They report to their own commanders, who they say communicate with Ukraines Ministry of Defense.
A line of 15 men had come to guard parliaments proceedings from provocateurs. The 15 were armed with automatic weapons they said they had purchased for hunting purposes. Their commander, Anton Primushka, said they numbered about 700 men and could mobilize 11,000 within 24 hours to deploy to southeastern Ukraine if Russia continued its incursion on Ukrainian soil.
Inside, the parliament voted on a presidential decree to carry out a partial mobilization involving 40,000 reservists after the referendum in Crimea on joining Russia passed with 96 percent approval on Sunday. If theres a war, we will work with the Ministry of Defense like a special group, we dont need to be taught anything, we have experience and have all been to war, Primushka said. We cant stand aside now when they are tearing our country apart.
Across the capital, residents wondered where Russian President Vladimir Putin would stopwhether he would push into Ukraines eastern cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, or Odessaafter violent protests there last week killed three people. Putin has repeatedly reserved the right to use force to protect Russian-speakers outside his countrys borders.
Kiev residents wondered if the West would continue to pressure Putin to back down, or how he could do so while saving face with his own populationwhich has granted him the highest presidential approval rating in three years, according to a poll released by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion.
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http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-17/in-kiev-armed-and-masked-men-protect-parliament#r=rss