Two servicemen have been taken captive after Russian forces stormed another Ukrainian military base on the Crimean Peninsula today, officials said.
Russian troops seized the marine base in the port of Feodosia, detaining up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen on site and taking two injured Ukrainians away by helicopter, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said.
Russia completed its annexation of Crimea last week, after its troops took control over the Ukrainian region following the ousting of the Russian-leaning government in Kiev.
Ttroops used stun grenades to force their way into the marine base early today, overrunning one of the last symbols of resistance left after Moscow wrestled the peninsula away from Kiev, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian flags were taken down inside the base two days after Russian forces used similar tactics to take a Ukraine’s Belbek airbase in Crimea.
Russia’s seizure of Crimea after the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president by mass protests in Kiev has triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.
The United States and the European Union have targeted some of Mr Putin’s closest long-time political and business allies with personal sanctions.
Russian forces had already captured part of the Feodosia base, used by the 1st Separate Marine Battalion, Ukraine’s top military unit, earlier this month.
But Ukrainians had previously appeared to be in control of the armoury, the barracks and other facilities in the compound.
Ukrainian army officer, First Lieutenant Anatoly Mozgovoy, said by phone from inside the compound today that the Russians had fired shots and the Ukrainian soldiers were unarmed.
Asked if the base had been taken over, he said: “Yes”. “The invading troops were using stun grenades and also firing automatic weapons. The interior of the compound is full of Russian troops,” said Vladislav Seleznyov, a Ukrainian military spokesman in Crimea. Seleznyov said Russian forces were taking away all Ukrainian officers from the base to another location in the city for questioning.
Russian troops used armoured vehicles, automatic gunfire and stun grenades to take the Ukrainian Belbek airbase on Saturday. Ukrainian forces also abandoned a naval base after attacks by pro-Russian protesters, and had to surrender two flagship vessels to Russian forces over the recent days. Moscow formally annexed Crimea on March 21st, five days after the region overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to join Russia, in a move not recognised by Kiev and the West.
Agencies