Russian-Ukrainian Conflict News

[Grey Havoc]

does anybody know the disposition of ukraine's airforce?

A very good question. Even before the current crisis it wasn't in the best of condition.


Some breaking news: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26680250

EU leaders have signed an agreement on closer relations with Ukraine, in show of support following Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Ukraine's interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the EU signed the deal in Brussels.

Pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych's abandonment of the deal had led to deadly protests, his removal and Russia taking over Crimea.

On Friday, Russia's upper house unanimously approved the treaty on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?236005-Situation-in-the-Ukraine-Crimea-*Photos-Videos*-ONLY&p=7098676&viewfull=1#post7098676

Ships Ukrainian Navy raise the flag Russian Navy 10-30 Kiev-time 21 march:

- "Donbass"
- "Kremenets"
- "Izjaslav"
- "Borshchiv"
- Corvette "Khmelnitsky"
- Corvette "Luck"
- Corvette "Ternopil"
- Missile corvette "Pridniprovie"
- Missile boat "Pryłuki"
- "Syeverodonets'k"
- "Balta"
- Tanker "Sudak"
- Tanker "Fastow"
- Mooring tender "Shostka"
- "Zolotonosha"
- Clearship U954
- "Dubno"
- "Krasnoperecopsk"
- Medical boat "Sokal"
- Diving boat "Romney"
- Diving boat "Tokmak"
- Boat "Korosten"
- Boat "Illichivs'k"

(Some pictures at link.)

EDIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2yw0fAFUNYM
(h/t Cap'n Caz)

 

[Grey Havoc]

I guess they aren't able to pull out the heavy equipment in this case at least?

Krivoy Rog (Kryvyi Rih) is in eastern Ukraine rather than the Crimea. If this was sabotage, the implications aren't pleasant, to put it mildly.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?236054-2nd-attempt-at-the-Ukraine-discussion-thread&p=7098632&viewfull=1#post7098632

UPDATE: regarding the yesterday fire at the 73th Armored Division base in Krivoy Rog. 3 to 9 T-64BV tanks are damaged beyond repair. First preliminary cause of fire is stated as violation of safety precautions. Probably smoking next to a fully loaded tank or maybe even inside of it.

 

[Grey Havoc]

BBC streaming coverage: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26678700

 

[Grey Havoc]

10:41: The defence source says Paris will offer to ensure "Awacs (Airborne Warning and Control System) patrols from France around twice a week" if requested.

10:38: France will offer to send four fighter jets to the Baltic states and Poland to boost Nato air patrols in the region, a source close to the French defence ministry says, according to AFP.

10:33: Russian stocks have dropped 3% and the rouble fell half a percent on Friday, as concerns grow over the impact of possible US sanctions on Russia's economy, Reuters reports.

10:24: "We have not got much time left. We are being threatened that our ship is about to be stormed...We are running out of food and fresh water supplies, and we cannot leave Donuzlav Bay because its exit is blocked by sunken ships," the servicemen continue (via Ukrayinska Pravda).
They have called on the Ukrainian government to evacuate their families from Crimea as a matter of urgency.

10:23: A Russian flag flies on a Ukrainian ship moored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

10:22: BBC Monitoring reports: Besieged Ukrainian navy officers in western Crimea have appealed to the government in Kiev for clarity on what to do in the face of the continuing onslaught by Russian troops, Ukrayinska Pravda website reports.
"We are asking you to take specific decisions on what we need to do, because most of us do not know what they and their families should expect," servicemen on board the Cherkasy minesweeper, one of several Ukrainian warships blocked by Russian troops inside Donuzlav Bay, say.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/20/crimea-is-just-putins-opening-game-says-swedish-foreign-minister-carl-bildt/?hpt=hp_t2


http://us.cnn.com/2014/03/05/opinion/russia-ukraine-austria/?iref=obnetwork

 

[Grey Havoc]

BBC News:

11:13: Richard Galpin, BBC World Affairs correspondent The second round of sanctions imposed by the United States yesterday targeted a group of officials and wealthy businessmen regarded very much as President Putin's inner circle. Although several of those affected shrugged them off, they are impacting the Russian economy - the stock exchange has fallen sharply again today and two leading credit ratings agencies have downgraded their outlook for Russia from stable to negative.

11:10: As before, Moscow can live with a Ukraine that is "neutral" while having close links with Russia, but it will not accept a Ukraine that is leaning to the West, Russian analyst Dmitry Trenin writes for Carnegie Europe. The battle for Ukraine promises to be a long and hard one, he warns.

11:08: BBC Monitoring reports: The political provisions of the Ukraine-EU association deal were signed earlier today not for the benefit of either Ukraine's economy or its people, but to "score points in a geopolitical game", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells journalists, according to Interfax news agency.

11:06: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Ukraine on Saturday for talks with interim leaders in Kiev and travel to the eastern city of Donetsk to meet the local governor, ministry officials say (Reuters).

11:04: Ukrainian soldiers stand inside a military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph live stream:

11.05 As France offers fighter jets to boost NATO patrols in the Baltics, let's turn for a moment to the situation in the trio of former Soviet republics, where the mood is increasingly jittery.

Matthew Day in Warsaw reports on the issue of ethnic Russians in Estonia, where Moscow has stirred tensions by complaining about the treatment of the minority group - specifically the country's long standing policy that all citizens speak Estonian:

Russia has expressed its “concern” over the treatment of ethnic Russians living in Estonia, in a statement that will increase anxiety in the tiny Baltic republic that has long had an awkward relationship with its giant neighbour.

Echoing one of the reasons Moscow used as a justification for its Crimean intervention, a Russian diplomat at the United Nations said language should not be “used to segregate and isolate groups” and that Moscow was “concerned by steps taken in this regard in Estonia as well as Ukraine.”

The treatment and status of Estonia’s large Russian minority that has been a cause of friction between the former Soviet republic and Moscow. Russia has accused Estonia of treating Russian speakers as second-class citizens.

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis there has been growing apprehension in the Baltic region over a more assertive Russia. Finland has put its air force on alert and increased patrols.

It's a similar situation in Latvia, where Telegraph correspondent Colin Freeman recently found a Russian minority aggrieved by "second class" treatment and a stirring of pro-Moscow sentiment the Kremlin may be keen to exploit.


10.45 More on the French offer of fighter jets to boost Baltic NATO patrols from Reuters:

France could send four planes to Lithuania on protection duty if NATO decides to boost air defences over the Baltic states, a source close to French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday, amid tension over Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.

Le Drian began a rapid visit to Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania and Estonia on Friday, with the aim of offering them reassurances on security, as European Union leaders sought to broaden sanctions against Moscow officials.

The French offer would come on top of a NATO mission that has offered air policing for the past decade and follows a U.S. offer to provide extra aircraft.

Since 2004, NATO has operated the "police the skies" mission over the Baltic states, with each NATO member country taking a turn every four months to supply planes that are based in Lithuania. The United States does the job at the moment and Poland will take over in May.

"France is ready to contribute four planes if NATO decides to beef things up," said the source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.


10.23 BREAKING: France has offered 4 fighter jets to boost NATO patrols over Poland and the Baltics. More to follow.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

11.45 President Vladimir Putin has signed bills incorporating Crimea into Russian territory, hailing it as a "remarkable event". "I am now in Russia," our correspondent Roland Oliphant in Simferopol notes.

 

[Grey Havoc]

12.16 The flexing of muscles continues as Ukraine joins two weeks of multinational military exercises involving troops from 12 NATO member and partner nations, an apparent bid to show it can count on broad international support as it faces off with Russia.


AP reports:


The drills, dubbed Saber Guardian, began Friday at the Novo Selo training facility in eastern Bulgaria and will include some 700 troops from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States, as well as representatives from NATO.


The exercise, planned before the current East-West standoff over Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is aimed at increasing regional flexibility, preserving and enhancing NATO interoperability, and facilitating multinational training, U.S. Army Europe spokesman Jesse Granger said.


It follows joint exercises by US, Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces in the Black Sea.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-26676051

 

[Grey Havoc]

BBC News:

12:41: The press conference has now ended.

12:40: "We must prevent the Russian troops from moving deeper into Ukraine. We understand how difficult it is for Ukrainian troops, but we must win," says Mr Turchynov.

12:39: Mr Ban earlier told the Ukrainian president how encouraged he was to see the reintroduction of Russian as an official language, but Mr Turchynov jumped in to correct him to insist that Ukraine only has one language.

12:38: Ukrainian troops in Crimea are still under orders to protect their bases and ships, Mr Turchynov adds.

Olexiy Solohubenko, Ukraine anayst tweets: Visa explains blocking cards of "Russia", SMP Bank, Sobinbank and InvestCapitalBank to "align its activities in compliance with U.S. law"


12:35: "Ukraine will never accept the seizure of its territory. We are ready for talks with Russia in any kind of format, but their troops must leave Ukraine," says acting Ukrainian President Turchynov.

12:34: Moments before, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified the treaty to absorb Crimea into Russia.

12:32: More from Mr Ban: I am not in a position to predict any possible reactions of possible course of action by Putin, but I have conveyed my serious concerns that this situation must be resolved through dialogue and in a peaceful manner. His (Mr Putin's) government and Ukraine should resolve this issue peacefully. It has become a global issue.

12:31: In another development, the US says it is preparing military exercises in Poland that could involve Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltics, the US ambassador to Poland was quoted by Reuters as saying in an emailed press release. He said the exercises would take place at the Lask air base, central Poland.

12:30: The UN secretary-general says all sides should refrain from engaging in highly inflamed rhetoric, which he says is unhelpful and may lead to "an uncontrollable situation".

 

[Grey Havoc]

12:53: Many of Crimea's Tatars - who make up about 12% of the population - have protested against Russia's incursion in the peninsula, fearing their lives might become worse under Moscow rule. The Tatars weres deported en masse in 1944 and were only allowed to return with the fall of the Soviet Union. Now some fear further deportation.

12:53: Eight Crimean Tatar families, 32 Tatars in total, have requested refugee status in Poland, a spokesman for the Polish border guards tells the AFP news agency.
"They justified their act by the situation in Crimea. We received their requests and launched the appropriate administrative procedures. In the meantime, they may be sent to a refugee centre, without being required to go," Agnieszka Golias said.

12:46: Ukrainian servicemen watch a TV broadcast of President Putin ratifying a treaty making Crimea part of Russia.

 

[sferrin]

"but I have conveyed my serious concerns that this situation must be resolved through dialogue and in a peaceful manner"

: Yeah, talk always works with crooks.

 

[Rickshaw]

"but I have conveyed my serious concerns that this situation must be resolved through dialogue and in a peaceful manner"

: Yeah, talk always works with crooks.

Threatening them in turn usually ends up with people killed... :

 

[sferrin]

"but I have conveyed my serious concerns that this situation must be resolved through dialogue and in a peaceful manner"

: Yeah, talk always works with crooks.

Threatening them in turn usually ends up with people killed... :

So if talk doesn't work and threatening them doesn't work, what is your "solution" that avoids bloodshed? : : (This should be good.)

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

13.42 More from David Cameron, who has described the referendum in Crimea as having "taken place at the barrel of a Kalashnikov".


"Since we last met a sham and illegal referendum has taken place at the barrel of a Kalashnikov and Russia has sought to annex Crimea. This is a flagrant breach of international law and something we will not recognise," the Prime Minister said at a Brussels press conference.


"The best rebuke to Russia is a strong and successful Ukraine," Mr Cameron went on, adding that if Russian troops went into eastern Ukraine then the Kremlin would face "far-reaching consequences in a broad range of economic areas."


When asked whether Roman Abramovich and other Russian tycoons should face sanctions, Mr Cameron said: "We certainly haven't ruled anyone out from this approach."


"You need to target people who have a direct relationship with the action that's been taken," he said.

Mr Cameron said Russia is more dependent on Europe than Europe is on Russia.

"We should also remember that of course Europe is 25 percent or so reliant on Russian gas but if you look at Gazprom's revenues something like 50 percent of them come from Europe... So Russia needs Europe more than Europe needs Russia."

David Cameron spoke at the end of a two-day EU summit


13.26 David Cameron is speaking in Brussels, where he has warned that if Russian troops enter eastern Ukraine, the incursion would trigger far-reaching consequences. More to follow..

13.24 As nerves grow in eastern Europe, Poland has announced that it is to speed up the purchase of a missile defence system in the face of the current crisis.

Matthew Day reports from Warsaw:

The Polish government has announced that it would speed up the purchase of a missile defence system as a senior minister claimed the Ukraine situation was the biggest crisis facing Poland since the collapse of communism.

Poland’s defence ministry said the £3 billion order for an air-defence system would be “accelerated” with a final decision made in the next weeks.

The Ukraine crisis and fear of war on the EU’s borders have spread growing alarm in Poland. Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, the Polish interior minister, said Poland is “facing its biggest crisis since regaining its independence” 25 years ago, but added the country was ready to defend itself.

To boost its defences Poland’s plans to buy eight sets of mid-range interceptor missiles, and will later purchase long and short-range systems to supplement them. As part of a wider spending spree on national security the country will also acquire a coastal missile defence system.

As tensions mount in the Baltic Sea region, France has also offered to send four warplanes to help patrol the skies over Baltic republics. Too small to have their own combat aircraft Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which were once Soviet republics, rely on NATO states to provide air cover.

 

[sferrin]

Hey, no worries. Just talk some more and that'll keep Putin from spiking the football in the inzone. Oh wait, he already did that:

"12:34: Moments before, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified the treaty to absorb Crimea into Russia."

 

[Grey Havoc]

(h/t Cap'n Caz)

EDIT: It's been noted (by GraceXXL/MilitaryPhotos) that the helmet is actually a 6B28.

 

[sferrin]

Are those the "polite men"? :-\

 

[Grey Havoc]

Cap'n Caz again.

"Polite Person" with AS VAL 9x39mm silenced assault rifle

 

[Grey Havoc]

Are those the "polite men"? :-\

Some of them, from the looks of things.

 

[Grey Havoc]

BBC News:

15:11: More from Prime Minister Medvedev's statement: "The new authorities [in Kiev] do not have proper legitimacy. What's worse, they do not have any real way of influencing the situation in the country at all. Power belongs to various radicals, militants and bandits."
Mr Medvedev goes on to urge politicians in Ukraine, the West and Russia to "think how to live in the future given the existing political and legal realities".
"We do not want the situation to get worse," Mr Medvedev adds.

15:06: The leader of Russia's Chechnya republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, says he will open an account in the Rossiya bank, which has been sanctioned by the US. President Putin earlier vowed to do the same.

15:04: A Ukrainian soldier stands guard at a checkpoint near the town of Armyansk, which sits on one of two main road crossings from mainland Ukraine to the Crimean peninsula.

15:02: More on the EU sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials over their alleged involvement in Crimea's takeover by Moscow. Brussels has now added 12 more people - including Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin - to bring the list to 33 officials.

14:58: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has posted a statement on Facebook criticising the new authorities in Kiev. In remarks echoing earlier statements by President Putin, Mr Medvedev says demonstrators in Ukraine "were entitled to a peaceful protest against corruption" but not to "grab power through an armed mutiny." He also insisted that Viktor Yanukovych remains Ukraine's legitimate leader.

14:55: From Kiev to Crimea - the conflict told in maps.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

15.10 France has suspended "the majority of its military cooperation with Russia" in the wake of Moscow's annexation of Crimea, defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said during a visit to Estonia.


It is unclear, however, exactly what that suspension means - AFP quoted sources as saying that contacts between the chiefs of staff of France and Russia had been annulled and that a joint military exercise between the EU, Britain, France and Russia previously scheduled for April had been cancelled.


The suspension does not extend to the sale of two Mistral warships by Paris to Moscow, a deal which is still under consideration. A final decision is expected in October, Mr Le Drian said.


While it isn't possible to say for certain why the deal is being kept alive, the 1.2 billion euros that the sale is worth might have something to do with it. Just a thought..


14.41 Damien McElroy reports from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian groups are attempting to pull the region away from Kiev's control:

Mass protests have been called for this weekend by pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk as the movement seeks to capitalise on the annexation of Crimea by the Kremlin.

Organisers have seized on Kiev's announcement that it will impose a visa regime on travel to Russia as a rallying cry for the Russian-speaking population in the eastern part of Ukraine.

Up to 5,000 people took to the streets last weekend to demand a referendum to decide on the region's status in the aftermath of the revolution that forced former president Viktor Yanukovych to flee last month.

Many families in the city straddle the border, so the visa requirement would weaken links between the area and Russia. It also deals a blow to the professional class of the city, which tends to have interests both in Russia and Ukraine.

"We'll stay here with empty pockets, and hate the authorities over it," said Mikhailo Stepanov, an engineer based in the coal-mining city. "Our government is trying to harm its own citizens."

But the protest movement, which last weekend stormed three government buildings on a tumultuous day of rage, has been riven by internal divisions and the arrests of key organisers.

The daily vigil maintained at the feet of the city's statue of Vladimir Lenin has dwindled and now consists of a few dozen, mainly elderly and dispossessed, people.

 

[Grey Havoc]

15.43 There is unconfirmed talk of trouble brewing at the Belbek air base, a Ukrainian military facility near Sevastopol, where the commander is reportedly refusing to surrender despite the presence of 10 to 12 Russian armoured personnel carriers in the vicinity. Events on the ground remain unclear however and in this live stream of the base's front entrance all appears calm. The Telegraph's Roland Oliphant is about to arrive at the scene - more to follow.

 

[Grey Havoc]

16.25 The Associated Press has an interesting analysis of how the Ukraine crisis is triggering a rethink on defence spending in Russia's European neighbours:


After the Cold War, Sweden refocused its national security strategy to give more weight to deployments in faraway conflict zones and even non-military challenges like climate change. Critics who dwelled on a Russian threat were dismissed as dinosaurs.


They are now having an "I-told-you-so" moment.


"An obvious misjudgment," said former Swedish defence minister Mikael Odenberg, who resigned in 2007 to protest military spending cuts.


Russia's readiness to use military force in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for many European countries, which since the Iron Curtain crumbled have slashed defence spending. Some shifted their priorities toward international missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere rather than deterring potential aggression from the East. Now, a serious recalibration is underway, particularly in countries with memories of Soviet tanks rumbling across their borders.

"If we don't do something quickly about it, some of our capabilities will be degraded to such an extent that they cease to exist," Czech armed forces chief Petr Pavel warned last week at a conference marking the 15th anniversary of his country's entry into NATO.

Only a handful of NATO's European members meet the alliance's goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defence. Meanwhile, Moscow spends more than 4 percent of GDP on its military.

A Ukrainian soldier on a training exercise near the eastern border with Russia

Strained by the financial crisis, European defence budgets dropped even as Russia resumed muscle-flexing exercises and patrols near European borders, including the resumption of long-range strategic bomber flights in 2007. Although Russia's brief war with Georgia in 2008 was a warning, Russia's buildup was widely seen as just modernising military forces that had fallen into disrepair.

"I think a lot of people did underestimate the willingness of Russia to actually use them," said Samuel Perlo-Freeman, a global military spending analyst at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

He said it's very likely that Moscow's assertiveness in the Ukraine crisis will prompt an increase in military budgets in countries near or bordering Russia in central Europe and around the Baltic Sea.

There are signs of that already. The Czech defence minister recently called for raising military spending to 1.5 percent of GDP, although there's no concrete budget proposal yet. Such outlays are down to 1.1 percent after a series of cuts that military officials say have eroded the country's military readiness.

Lithuania spends less than 1 percent of its output on the military but plans to ramp that up now, although "it is unrealistic that Lithuania will reach (NATO'S) 2 percent objective in the short run," Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius said this month.

Officials in Lithuania and Baltic neighbours Estonia and Latvia have called on NATO to move more resources there including ground troops and missile defences. The US-led alliance has boosted its air patrols over the Baltic countries and France offered Friday to add four more fighter jets.

The three former Soviet republics have a history of quarrels with Moscow over the situation of Russian-speaking minorities in their countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited protecting Russians as the reason for seizing Crimea from Ukraine, and for fighting Georgia in 2008.

However, the Ukraine crisis has not produced any talk in Barack Obama's administration of altering the downward direction of U.S. defense budgets - still by far the biggest in the world - or of putting additional U military resources in Europe. In February, U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said while at NATO headquarters that the U.S. is shrinking the size of its military without compromising its capabilities. He said European allies need to take the same approach.

Overall, Europe's defence spending is likely to remain constrained by broader fiscal pressures, said Giri Rajendran of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Western Europe's two largest military spenders, Britain and France, are unlikely to depart from existing budget trajectories, while in Southern Europe, "fiscal austerity has already seen some of the largest percentage reductions in defense outlays in Europe," Rajendran wrote in an email.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi wants to cut 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) from the defense budget, by rolling back on commitments to buy jets, selling disused barracks and restructuring the military, among other things.

An armed soldier, believed to be Russian, outside the seized military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol

In contrast, countries in central and northern Europe "are likely to consider additional budgetary allocations in light of now-heightened threat perceptions," Rajendran added.

In Sweden - which is not a NATO member and therefore has no guarantees that anyone will come to its aid in a conflict - the Ukraine crisis has triggered nervous discussions about the state of the country's armed forces.

At the height of the Cold War, neutral Sweden had some 400 fighter jets - four times more than today - and an ability to mobilise nearly 1 million troops. Now there are less than 20,000 personnel in active service.

After the Soviet collapse, Sweden's emphasis shifted toward nimbler, specialised units designed to join international coalitions in peacekeeping operations overseas. The defense budget was slashed by both left and right-leaning governments and military bases were closed across the country. The last nail in the coffin for a military doctrine based on territorial defence came in 2010, when Sweden abolished mandatory conscription.

Two years later Sweden's supreme commander made the startling assessment that the armed forces could defend the country's borders for no more than a week.

Perhaps even that was too optimistic.

Last Easter, when Russian warplanes exercising over the Baltic Sea unexpectedly turned toward Swedish air space and appeared to simulate attacks on targets in Stockholm, the Swedish Air Force didn't scramble any jets because none were on standby.

Even so, the prime minister said there was no risk of a real attack from Russia and some analysts dismissed calls for re-armament as fits of "Russophobia."

Now, both the left-leaning opposition and the center-right government suddenly agree that Sweden's military readiness is inadequate, with Finance Minister Anders Borg this week calling for "a substantial scaling-up" of capabilities.

The problem is, analysts say, that rebuilding a robust territorial defence would take up to 10 years.

Neighbouring Finland has maintained a more "realistic" outlook toward Russia, with which it shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border, said Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Finland has kept a strong line of defence toward the east, and maintained annual conscription of about 25,000 soldiers in addition to 14,500 permanent defence personnel.

"In the post-Cold War euphoria that gripped Europe," he said, "the Finnish military, the political establishment and the population that supports it did not dramatically change its view of what is the potential existential threat to Finland: Russia."

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

17.58 Our Paris correspondent Henry Samuel has been speaking to the French foreign ministry who tell him that France's planned €1.2 billion contract to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to the Russian Navy is a "drop on the ocean". The ministry says that France is in lockstep with the rest of Europe so it is suspending "most" military cooperation but will not stop selling arms to Russia until the rest of Europe decides to.

On the matter of the Mistral sales, Estonian Defence Minister Urmas Reinsalu has criticised the possible sale after talking today with his French counterpart.

Several dozen protesters rallied against the deal in front of the French embassy in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius as Le Drain arrived for talks.

A final decision on the sale is expected in October, according to Le Drian, who also visits fellow NATO member Poland on Friday as part of a Western push to offer security assurances to Eastern allies.

17.48 Reports are emerging quoting US administration official Ben Rhodes that Obama will deliver a major address on US-European relations on Wednesday next week and Ukraine “will factor heavily”.

17.20 Celebrations! Putin has signed a decree to hold fireworks in Moscow and Crimea's Simferopol and Sevastopol to celebrate the formal signing of the treaty that makes the Black Sea peninsula part of the Russian Federation.

Pretty reminiscent of the fireworks displays when Soviet troops drove the Nazis from occupied cities in World War II.

17.07 The Telegraph's Roland Oliphant has more detail on the stand-off at Belbek air base near Sevastopol, where he has just spoken to Colonel Oleh Podovalov, the facility's deputy commander.

Col. Podovalov told him that at around 10am (local time) this morning, Russian troops came to the base to ask them to surrender their weapons and leave Crimea. The Ukrainian command gave them the same answer as they have on previous occasions: "No". The deputy commander said that their decision is that they will not leave the base until they have orders from Kiev to do so.

As of now, he told The Telegraph, the Russians have taken up positions on the hill overlooking the base, above the command post. The Russian troops have around 10 armoured personnel carriers and one heavy lorry.

Col. Podovalov say that if the Russians use force to storm the base, they will fight back.

"If they use weapons, we will use weapons. There will be an appropriate response," he said.

A Ukrainian soldier closes the gates at Belbek air base

 

[Grey Havoc]

From MilitaryPhotos.net:

First on CNN: Intelligence from field has White House 'very concerned' about Russia invading more of Ukraine – possibly soon

By CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper
(CNN) - Based on intelligence, Obama administration officials are very concerned the Russians are not being truthful when they say their forces near Ukraine's eastern and southern borders are merely there for training exercises, sources tell CNN.
Officials assess that Russia – as early as coming days – could use any number of pretexts to justify further military incursions into Ukraine.

Moscow could express a need to protect Russian-speaking Ukrainians, or to protect transportation lines from Russia to Crimea, or the energy supply to Crimea from the rest of Ukraine.
Russian troops could accomplish this quickly, officials say, and theoretically before any other nation could even raise objections.
Officials publicly attribute their skepticism to previous Russian assurances that proved false, and privately say intelligence from the field has bolstered this view of Russia’s plans.

http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/21/obama-administration-very-concerned-further-russian-incursion-ukraine-possibly-coming-days/

 

[Grey Havoc]

A Ukrainian Navy vessel (apparently the Cherkassy) attempting to shift one of the blockships at the entrance to Donuzlav Bay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s3L3aJQrZXI

(h/t berkut76 over at MilitaryPhotos.net)

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W7PtNJkuDoM

Looks like they made it through: (if it indeed is a Ukrainian ship)

(h/t C4Casey/MilitaryPhotos.net)

A bit more info & pics on the current (morning of March 22nd) status of the Ukrainian Navy can be found here (towards top of page).

does anybody know the disposition of ukraine's airforce?

A very good question. Even before the current crisis it wasn't in the best of condition.

In regards to the Air Force:
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?236054-2nd-attempt-at-the-Ukraine-discussion-thread&p=7099597&viewfull=1#post7099597

A Ukranian Su-24 has crashed. Thankfully, both pilot and RIO ejected safely.
http://kp.ua/daily/210314/444824/

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26693422


http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/22/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t2


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10715577/Europe-scrambles-to-break-gas-dependence-on-Russia-offers-Ukraine-military-tie.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/10715764/Russian-billionaire-sold-his-shares-the-day-before-he-was-blacklisted.html

 

[Grey Havoc]

(slightly edited.)

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?236054-2nd-attempt-at-the-Ukraine-discussion-thread&p=7100059&viewfull=1#post7100059

Originally Posted by CourageAboveAllValues

Any word on the progress of the evacuation of Ukrainian servicemen and their families to mainland Ukraine?

Igor Tenukh, Ukraine's MoD accused crimean units in "weak state of morale" and ordered them to "stop whining".

Translation of the article:
MoD said during tv-marathon that servicemen were given orders to "undertake the defense" and were authorized to use lethal force. He explained that their hesitancy comes from the lack of training. However, Alexei Nikiforov, commander's deputy of naval infantry battalion in Kerch responded immediately and claimed that his subordinates are in such difficult situation due to the absence of order from HQ. He made the accusation that MoD never had a telephone conversation with battalion commander: "During this crisis no representatives of UA Navy HQ had come to the unit since 1st of March. Each and every day only representatives of RU Navy had been visiting us. I have familiarized myself with russian generals more than with ukrainian". According to him there are servicemen in his unit who want to join russian military and reminded that russian Tricolor was displayed over his, previously blocked, unit in Friday. He stated: "At this very moment I have 49 men who want to return to the mainland and continue to serve in Ukraine's military. Another 20 just want to quit the service at all. The other write reports and sign contracts to apply for service in russian military". After that claim he was accused in having wanting mettle. Besides, MoD rejects that ukrainian servicemen are dissatisfied with such state of things and calls all complaints provocation: "You are the military man first of all so just say that you have defected and quit with storytelling. You must endure all hardships firmly, whining does not suit for a man and, especially, for infantryman. It is bitter to see that your unit has such weak morale. You should had thought more about that matter when you were recruiting soldiers, not about creating brand, sninning and fancy toy-army". He also laid blame on instructors and claimed that parliament is responsible for not issuing clear directives regarding further action on peninsula.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?236054-2nd-attempt-at-the-Ukraine-discussion-thread&p=7100079&viewfull=1#post7100079

Agence France-Presse ‏@AFP 1m
#BREAKING: Pro-Russian forces storm Ukraine military base in western Crimea

(h/t Siempre_Leal )

 

[Grey Havoc]

Thanks to African-European over at MilitaryPhotos for this:

Russian Navy Flag Raised at Ukraine's Only Sub

SEVASTOPOL, March 22 (RIA Novosti) - The St.Andrew's flag of the Russian Navy was raised on Ukraine's only submarine, the Zaporizhzhia, on Saturday.
The Zaporizhzhia, commissioned in 1970, will join the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which previously had three submarines.
Captain 1st Rank Anatoly Varochkin, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet's submarine flotilla, told RIA Novosti that half of the Zaporizhzhia's crew, including the captain, refused to serve in the Russian Navy and left the vessel.
"Half of the submarine's crew is ready to serve [Russia] and fulfill their tasks. They know their vessel and will continue service," Varochkin said adding that the submarine was in a poor technical condition.
The submarine will be relocated to Yuzhnaya Bay where the Russian Black Sea is based.
A total of 72 military units in Crimea hoisted Russian flags earlier this week and applied to join the Russian armed forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday to ratify the treaty providing for the reunification of the Crimean Peninsula with Russia.
Leaders in the predominantly Russian-ethnic republic refused to recognize the legitimacy of the government in Kiev that came to power amid often violent protests last month, instead seeking reunification with Russia.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26698754

Oh Joy.

 

[Grey Havoc]

The webcam covering the front gate of Belbek just got taken down a few minutes ago. Prior to this the gate was rammed open with a BTR, though the Russian forces don't appear to have gone deep into the base yet. Shortly after the gate was breached, an ambulance was seen, so there may have already been casualties.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?236054-2nd-attempt-at-the-Ukraine-discussion-thread&p=7100236&viewfull=1#post7100236

EDIT: BBC is reporting that two armoured personnel carriers burst through the wall of the base followed by Russian troops. The reports they're getting say at least one person was injured. Shooting and blasts have been heard. EDIT2: The Ukrainian soldiers apparently have gathered (fallen back?) at the base main square.

 

[Grey Havoc]

(h/t CourageAboveAllValues/MilitaryPhotos.net)

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10716235/Russian-armoured-vehicles-ram-their-way-into-Ukrainian-military-base-in-Crimea.html

Russian forces stormed a Ukrainian air base in Crimea on Saturday, ramming the gates with armoured vehicles and firing machine guns after the troops inside refused an ultimatum to surrender.


At least one Ukrainian soldier was reported to have been injured in the attack, the latest in a series of assaults designed to drive Ukrainain forces from the breakaway region.


An AFP reporter saw armed men streaming inside the air base and pointing their guns at Ukrainian soldiers, who were unarmed. The Ukrainians were reported to have lined up with their backs turned to the Russian forces. Explosions were also heard.


The confrontation took place at the Belbek air base, which was the scene of the first confrontation between pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian troops at the beginning of this month. Oleg Podovalov, the deputy commander of the base, near Sevastopol, said: "The Russian troops at our aerodrome gave us an hour to surrender or they will start storming. “We are going nowhere, let's see what this storming is."


Elsewhere in Crimea, a crowd believed to be at least 200 strong attacked the base in the town of Novofedorivka and smashed windows in the base. Ukrainain servicemen inside tried to repel them by throwing smoke bombs from the roof. Crimea voted last Sunday to split from Ukraine and become part of Russia, in a referendum condemned as illegal by the West.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Via Sorc at MilitaryPhotos.net:

http://lenta.ru/news/2014/03/22/chumach/

Leader of "People's Home Guard of Donbass" has been detained in Ukraine by SBU. The report states that Chumatchenko suspected of preparing to overthrow the constitutional order and in violation of territorial integrity of Ukraine.

According to "Ukrainian Truth", the detainee had materials which, according to representatives of the SBU, indicate the intention to encourage unlawful acts among participants of mass protest in March 22 in Donetsk , in particular the forced seizing the building of the regional state administration. Additionally, the detainee was planning to proclaim himself the "people's governor."

Well, simple stuff. Revolutionaries in Kiev definitely aren't interested in allowing same actions to any other opposing force. No wonder.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2586765/Breaking-News-Defiant-Ukranian-commander-orders-outnumbered-men-stand-ground-expect-engage-Russian-troops-surrounding-military-base.html