Ukraine Accuses Russian Soldiers in Crimea of 'Invasion'

The interior minister of Ukraine accused Russian troops Friday of blockading an airport in the Crimean city of Sevastopol in what he has described as an armed invasion. While stressing that no direct violent confrontations had taken place, Arsen Avakov said the matter should be dealt with on a diplomatic level before armed clashes broke out. Avakov said on his Facebook account that troops from the Black Sea Fleet, which is stationed in the city, could be seen outside Belbek airport, although the inside of the terminal was controlled by Ukrainian troops. “The airport is not operating. At the external perimeter there are Ukrainian Interior Ministry checkpoints. There have been not been armed clashes,” Avakov said. The alleged presence of Black Sea Fleet troops at the airport, if confirmed, would be in direct defiance of a demand by Ukrainian interim authorities Thursday for Russian troops to refrain from leaving their quarters. That appeal apparently echoed international concern that Moscow may choose to throw its weight behind pro-Russian groups in Crimea seeking to defy interim authorities in Kiev. “Any movement, particularly with weapons, outside official residences regulated by our agreement will be interpreted by us as military aggression,” interim President Oleksandr Turchynov said. Already frayed nerves on the Crimena Peninsula were tested Thursday when a group of apparently pro-Russian gunmen occupied the parliament in the Crimean regional capital of Simferopol, only one day after fistfights erupted outside the building between supporters and opponents of the country’s incoming leadership.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140228/187963690/Ukraine-Accuses-Russian-Soldiers-in-Crimea-of-Invasion-Update1.html