February 28, 2014

Masked men of uncertain allegiance, dressed in camouflage fatigues and carrying assault rifles, took up position today both inside and outside the international airport at Simferopol, Ukraine, as well as a second airfield nearby. Simferopol is a city in Ukraine’s far southern Crimea region. The men have not, so far, harmed anyone or interfered with normal airport operations, but their presence has unnerved travelers and airport personnel alike. Outside the city, long columns of military vehicles with Russian markings are on the move, and experts on the security situation in Ukraine state that it is unclear what their movement signals, other than a show of strength.

In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, informed the Security and Defense Council that armed men wearing the uniform of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have taken control of a Ukrainian border crossing just outside the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Sevastopol is home to Russia’s formidable naval fleet on the Black Sea. The Ukrainian parliament responded to these provocations with an appeal to Russia to “stop moves that show signs of undermining [Ukraine's] national sovereignty.” The parliament also officially notified the United Nations of the situation and urged the United Kingdom and the United States to honor commitments made in the early 1990′s to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Crimea, Ukraine's southernmost region, is of extreme strategic importance to Russia. With Russia conducting military exercises along the border, many Ukrainians fear Russia has designs on Crimea. (World Book maps)

In Moscow, the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a denial that its forces have moved into Crimea and declared that Russia has not violated agreements not to intervene in Ukrainian affairs. Many Ukrainians fear that Russia is using the chaotic situation following the collapse of Viktor Yanukovych’s government to take control of strategically important Crimea. (Russia maintains numerous military facilities in Crimea dating from the era when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.)

Crimea as well as eastern Ukraine is largely populated with Russian-speaking people with close cultural ties to Russia. (Western Ukraine is largely populated with Ukrainian-speaking people who want Ukraine allied with the European Union.) Last night, pro-Russia demonstrators marched on the regional parliament in Simferopol, chanting, “Rossiya, Rossiya” (Russia, Russia) and took control of various government buildings.

Additional World Book article:

Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)