Russia's possible undercover military interventionMembers of the new Crimean army attend a morning b...

1. Russia's possible undercover military intervention
Russia's possible undercover military intervention
Members of the new Crimean army attend a morning briefing in Lenin Square, in Simferopol,
Ukraine, Saturday, March 15, 2014. Tensions are high in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, where a
referendum is to be held Sunday on whether to split off from Ukraine and seek annexation by
Russia.(Photo: Vadim Ghirda, AP)
Story HighlightsRussian President Vladimir Putin has denied sending troops to CrimeaCrimean
militia stationed at key places in the region say Russian forces are certainly helpingSome 22,000
Russian troops have been deployed to Crimea, Ukraine Defense Ministry Ihor Teniukh
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SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied sending troops to Ukraine's
breakaway pro-Russian Crimea peninsula, but according to local militia stationed at key places in
the region, Russian forces are certainly helping.
"Those are Russian troops, haven't you seen your own soldiers before?" said a man who identified
himself as a member of a local volunteer defense brigade stationed outside of the Sevastopol
headquarters of the Ukrainian Naval Forces on Saturday.
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The volunteer, dressed in plainclothes, said his name could not be disclosed because he was not
authorized to speak. Behind him, about six soldiers wearing heavy armor, masks and holding
machine guns stood at the entrance of the headquarters to make sure that the servicemen inside,
still under oath to the Ukrainian government, would not leave. The soldiers were not wearing
insignia.

2. The security measures, according to several defense volunteers who also stood guard, were to
prevent "provocations" from happening.
Several women formed a line at the barricaded entrance, waiting to hand over packages to sons and
husbands blockaded inside. Women described their sons as caught in a vicious circle because they
could not desert, having sworn an oath to Ukraine. But, the sons were now surrounded by pro-
Russian forces that did not recognize the new Ukrainian government.
The women, who all declined to give their names for fear of retribution, said the soldiers were not
being given any choices. One woman added, however, that she would vote for Crimea to join Russia
in Sunday's referendum because she felt that living in Russia could not get any worse than living in
Ukraine.
The unidentified armed militia in Crimean cities underscored the informal, undercover nature of
Russia's military intervention on the peninsula. Patrols in Sevastopol and Simferopol, Crimea's
biggest cities, were scarce on Friday and Saturday in the run-up to Sunday's referendum, and mostly
consisted of camouflaged defense volunteers, plainclothes militia wearing bands on their arms and
uniformed Crimean Cossacks, a ultra-conservative military and ethnic community that has
traditionally been loyal to Russia.
Huddled in groups, these men guarded government buildings and military bases. Heavily armed
soldiers resembling Russian troops were stationed at a makeshift checkpoint on the road between
Simferopol and Sevastopol and stopped a bus to check passengers' documents.
Spontaneous shows of force flared up in both Simferopol and Sevastopol just ahead of Sunday's
referendum. Foreign journalists staying at the Moskva Hotel in Simferopol said that dozens of
masked gunmen swept through the building, stopping people coming out of elevators and checking
their belongings. The siege ended after a Crimean defense official ordered the gunmen out after
failing to find any criminal activity, according to journalists at the scene.
Pressure from Russia was also spreading beyond Crimea, with about 80 Russian troops reportedly
seizing a gas plant near the Crimean border in the Kherson region on Saturday, according to the
Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nearly 22,000 Russian troops have been deployed to Crimea, acting Defense Ministry of Ukraine
Ihor Teniukh said Saturday, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
But Putin earlier claimed that troops seen patrolling Crimean cities were local defense volunteers
who bought their uniforms. And, Russia's Foreign Ministry has said that any troop movements were
merely protecting Russia's Black Sea Fleet, stationed on the Crimean Peninsula, according to a 1997
treaty signed with Ukraine.
The status of the Black Sea Fleet, which dates back to the 18th century when Crimea was first
annexed to Russia, also complicates the nature of the intervention. Under the treaty, Russia leases a
network of over 1,000 naval facilities on the Crimean Peninsula, including a naval base in
Sevastopol, two airfields and a training facility in Feodosia. The bases can include up to 25,000
personnel, 22 airplanes, up to 24 artillery complexes, and 132 armored trucks. Russia pays $100
million annually for the bases and the lease expires in 2047.
According to the treaty, "military formations can carry out security measures at their dispositions
and during movements in accordance with procedures established in the Russian Armed Forces,

3. with cooperation from competent authorities in Ukraine."
Local defense volunteers patrolling Sevastopol and Simferopol, when questioned about their
relationship with the Black Sea Fleet, said that the forces were helping each other.
Members of the defense brigade in Simferopol, guarding the Council of Ministers building, said they
began mobilizing in the region on February 23, a day after pro-Western demonstrations swept the
regime of President Viktor Yanukovich from power in Kiev.
Crimean local authorities refused to recognize the new government, appointed pro-Russian prime
minister Sergei Aksyonov and asked Russia for protection and reinforcement.
Asked where he obtained his uniform and equipment, a middle-aged defense volunteer outside of the
Simferopol Council of Ministers building said his men had stormed a military warehouse. He did not
specify further.
Defense volunteers standing guard outside Ukraine Naval Forces headquarters in Sevastopol said
they believed Putin jumped on the opportunity to annex Crimea so that he wouldn't have to pay the
annual $100 million lease.
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