Crimean forces storm Ukrainian navy HQ

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

SEVASTOPOL, Crimea (AP) - Crimea's self-defense forces on Wednesday stormed the Ukrainian navy base in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol a day after Russia signed a treaty with local authorities to annex the region.

An Associated Press photographer witnessed several hundred self-defense forces take down the gate and make their way onto the headquarters' premises. They then raised the Russian flag on the square by the headquarters.

Ukrainian servicemen were standing guard by the main building. Crimean self-defense forces are not armed and seemed to be waiting for the Ukrainian army's decision whether to let them in.

The commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet was seen arriving at the base for talks.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140319/DACKL0Q02.html

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People wave Russian flags as they gather at a square to watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Federation Council, in Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Putin on Tuesday fiercely defended Russia's move to annex Crimea saying Crimea's vote on Sunday to join Russia was in line with "democratic norms and international law." (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)

[Cha]

1. KICK

[Fred Sanders]

2. Rather hyperbolic of AP to describe unarmed civil defence forces as "storming"

anything. But par for the course for Western mass media who have already forgotten that Crimea held a referendum with overwhelming results just 3 days ago.

And is "annex" the right word when an internal local political state wants to leave one nation and join another? Isn't "secede" the proper terminology to describe what happened?

[geek tragedy]

5. Only if one is naive enough to

think Putin cares about what Crimeans want.

[blackspade]

8. You don't have to be armed to 'storm' a position.

I'm glad the Ukrainians appear to be well lead and professional, unlike the Crimean and Russian thugs.
Shouldn't Russia be negotiating with Ukraine for removal of troops and material?

[TxVietVet]

3. It reminds me of Europe during Hitler's expansion of Greater Germany.

No one seems to want to say that.

[dipsydoodle]

4. I don't recall

Crimea's self-defense forces storming the Ukrainian navy base the Black Sea port of Sevastopol in WW2 which might explain why nobody has drawn your comparison.

[Renew Deal]

22. It doesn't have to be exact to be comparable.

[LiberalEsto]

9. Give a certain Russian an inch, and he'll try to take the whole 9 yards

I can't believe anyone is naive enough to think Putin will stop with forcibly annexing Crimea. That "referendum" was a complete sham. Of course people will vote a certain way if they have guns at their threats and Russian tanks rolling around.

[another_liberal]

11. There were international election observers on the ground . . .

They said the referendum vote seemed quite free and fair. What did you observe at the Crimean polling places which leads you to believe it was "A complete sham?"

http://www.globalresearch.ca/crimean-referendum-at-gunpoint-is-a-myth-international-observers/5373767

[LiberalEsto]

12. Hi Comrade

Who is paying you?

[another_liberal]

13. Not a living soul is paying me anything . . .

I post here without remuneration of any kind, just for altruistic love of bringing light into the darkened recesses of closed and narrow minds. My ultimate goal is to help free those enslaved by the greed of wealthy and powerful interests who rule our planet as if they personally own it.

Remember: Just because every source seems to be telling you something is thus and such, that does not mean it's the truth, especially not when there is big money to be made by the mega-rich if everyone can be sold the story their lackeys are pushing.

[LiberalEsto]

15. lol

[another_liberal]

19. Are you seriously accusing me of being an agent of a foreign government?

I would not take that as a laughing matter.

[LiberalEsto]

21. Not seriously, sorry if I implied that nt

[DallasNE]

20. I Have No Doubt But What A Free And Fair Election Would Have Produced A Similar Result

But the election that was conducted was a sham. There was no option on the ballot for Crimea to remain as part of Ukraine. There was no opposition campaigning permitted. It reminded me of an election in North Korea. That is what is so stupid about this. It could have been done in a matter that was free and fair but Putin would have none of that. The two choices were to join Russia at the ankle or to join Russia at the hip and 97.6% said they wanted to join Russia at the hip.

[another_liberal]

10. Hitler and WWII, the go-to allusion for all fear-mongering purposes . . .

Saddam is Hitler, Gaddafi is Hitler, Ahmadinejad is Hitler, Morsi is Hitler, Assad is Hitler and Putin is oh so Hitler. Of course, wherever any of them is active is just like Czechoslovakia in 1938, and they are all just about to start World War II all over again.

Can't we have a little more variety regarding our international bogeyman scare stories? Perhaps it might be wise to save the Hitler comparisons until someone remotely as dangerous as that monster may actually come along?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

16. The Ukrainian Interim Government is Hitler?

That one seemed to get your sympathy and recommendation.

[another_liberal]

18. Being a fraud and an American financed puppet . . .

Does not make that collection of unelected, Western-educated technocrats and gun-slinging, ultra-nationalistic street thugs Hitler. They may well be both brutal and fascistic, yes, but they are hardly comparable to Hitler!

[LanternWaste]

24. Historical accuracy is quite often trivialized as an internet meme

Historical accuracy is quite often trivialized or minimized as an internet meme, however; I do certainly understand than many people know much more about internet memes than historical accuracy...

[another_liberal]

27. Too true . . .

And I am serious about reserving the Hitler comparisons until they are actually needed. If we keep crying wolf by referencing that horrid name for every two-bit aggressor who does something to anger us, what will we say to warn people when someone like the real item might once again come along?

[Catherina]

6. Ukrainian servicemen, Rear Admiral have left the Ukrainian Navy headquarters

At least 30 Ukrainian servicemen have left the Ukrainian Navy headquarters in the city of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula after demonstrators stormed the premises early in the morning.

Crimean self-defense troops have made a passage to let Ukrainian servicemen leave the territory of the HQ. Reports on the number of people to have left vary with ITAR-TASS saying around 50 personnel are gone, Rear Admiral Sergey Gaiduk of the Ukrainian Navy among them.

...

People began protesting outside the HQ at 08:00 GMT. Several thousand participants cut fences, stormed inside and changed the flags on the flagpoles. Some of the participants of the rally were singing the Russian national anthem.

...

UkrStream.TV cameras which recorded the situation near the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy show no violence on the precinct.

After the protesters entered the navy HQ territory, they began holding talks with the representatives of the Ukrainian Navy.

...

http://rt.com/news/sevastopol-ukraine-leave-servicemen-796/

[snappyturtle]

14. Thanks for the update Catherina.

I think the Associated Press would have served readers better with this title:

"Unarmed Crimean forces storm Ukrainian Naval Headquarters"

[Catherina]

25. The Guardian's 1st title was "Russian Troops Storm Ukraine's naval headquarters..."

Russian Troops? Excuse me?

The caught so much shit for their inflammatory, misleading title that they toned it down to the still misleading but slightly less inflammatory "Pro-Russian forces seize Ukraine's naval headquarters in Sevastopol".

What a joke the Guardian is when it comes to the UK government's hatred for countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Russia....

[dipsydoodle]

23. Was his name Elvis ?

.

[Catherina]

26. He'll soon be spotted too the way the Ukrainian putsch regime is losing it n/t

[blackspade]

7. Time to spike the guns and leave.

Now that Russia's annexation has been 'legalized'

[DallasNE]

17. Who Writes This Crap, Putin?

The AP should be ashamed. The self-defense forces are the ones being attacked. The way this reads they are attacking themselves. The forces doing the attacking are not loyal to Crimea but to the Russian Federation of Putin.

[another_liberal]

28. Technically speaking, the Russia Today News correspondents do this writing.

As to the "self defense forces": They are now operating in territory that's a part of the Russian Federation. One assumes their loyalty is to that entity.