Ukraine mobilizes after Putin's 'declaration of war'

By Natalia Zinets along with Alissa de Carbonnel

KIEV/BALACLAVA, Ukraine Sun Mar 2, 2014 6:54pm EST

1 associated with 13. Members of Crimean self-defence units stand guard facing the nearby government headquarters throughout Simferopol March 2, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Thomas Peter

KIEV/BALACLAVA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine mobilized regarding war about Sunday and Washington threatened for you to isolate Russia economically right after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the best for you to invade his neighbor in Moscow's greatest confrontation with all the West since your Cold War.

"This can be not just a threat: this is actually the actual declaration of war to my country," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk stated throughout English. Yatsenuik heads a new pro-Western government in which took power inside the former Soviet republic when its Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich, had been ousted last week.

Putin secured permission via his parliament in Saturday to utilize military force for you to protect Russian citizens throughout Ukraine as well as advised U.S. President Barack Obama he had the right to be able to defend Russian interests as well as nationals, spurning Western pleas not to intervene.

Russian forces have got already bloodlessly seized Crimea, an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base.

On Sunday, they will surrounded numerous little Ukrainian military outposts there along with demanded the particular Ukrainian troops disarm. Several refused, leading to standoffs, although no shots had been fired.

As Western countries considered the way to respond to the crisis, the united States stated it absolutely was focused on economic, diplomatic and also political measures, however produced obvious it has been not seriously considering military action.

U.S. Secretary regarding State John Kerry will visit Kiev upon Tuesday to demonstrate "strong support with regard to Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and additionally the proper in the Ukrainian visitors to decide their particular future, without having outside interference as well as provocation," the State Department mentioned in the statement.

MORE DEMONSTRATIONS IN EASTERN UKRAINE

With Russian forces in control of vast majority ethnic Russian Crimea, the focus will be shifting for you to eastern swaths involving Ukraine, exactly where check these guys out nearly all ethnic Ukrainians converse Russian as a native language.

Those places noticed a lot more demonstrations on Sunday right after violent protests about Saturday, and also pro-Moscow activists hoisted flags for any second day in government buildings as well as called pertaining to Russia to defend them.

Russia provides staged war games using 150,000 troops over the land border, however they have got to date certainly not crossed. Kiev said Russia had sent countless its citizens over the border in order to stage the actual protests.

Ukraine's security council ordered the general staff in order to right away put just about all defense force upon highest alert. However Kiev's small, and under-equipped military sometimes appears as zero match with regard to Russia's superpower might.

The Defence Ministry had been ordered in order to stage a new call-up associated with reserves, meaning theoretically just about all men approximately 40 in a nation together with universal male conscription, even though Ukraine would struggle to locate extra guns or uniforms pertaining to significant figures associated with them.

Kerry condemned Russia for which he referred to as an "incredible act of aggression" along with brandished your threat associated with economic sanctions.

"You just don't, inside the 21st century, behave inside 1800s fashion by simply invading another nation on the totally trumped-up pretext," Kerry advised the particular CBS plan "Face the Nation".

He stated Moscow still had a "right group of choices" for you to defuse the crisis. Otherwise, G8 countries as well as other nations were willing to "to go for the hilt for you to isolate Russia".

"They are generally prepared to isolate Russia economically. The Actual rouble has previously been likely down. Russia features main economic challenges," he said. He pointed out visa bans, asset freezes as well as trade isolation as possible steps.

Obama discussed the Ukraine crisis within calls together with allies, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron stated they will agreed Russia would spend "significant costs" unless it changed course.

Analysts stated U.S. economic sanctions would probably get little impact on Russia unless these were paired along with strong measures through main European nations, that have deeper trade ties using Moscow and therefore are influenced by Russian gas.

Ukraine's envoy for the Un said Kiev would ask pertaining to international military support if Russia expanded its military action throughout his country.

At Kiev's Independence Square, exactly where anti-Yanukovich protesters had camped out pertaining to months, thousands demonstrated against Russian military action. Speakers delivered rousing orations and also placards read: "Putin, hands off Ukraine!"

"If there exists a have to protect your nation, we goes and defend the actual nation," mentioned Oleh, an marketing executive cooking more than an open fire at the square where he has been camped regarding 3 months. "If Putin wants to consider Ukraine pertaining to himself, he will fail. We want to contact home freely so we will stay freely."

The new government announced it had fired the actual head in the navy and also launched a new treason case against him pertaining to surrendering Ukraine's naval headquarters in order to Russian forces inside the Crimean port of Sevastopol, where Moscow has a significant naval base.

REACTION FROM THE WEST

Obama spoke to Putin for 90 minutes simply by telephone about Saturday following your Russian leader declared he had the best in order to intervene and also swiftly secured unanimous approval from his parliament.

The Kremlin mentioned Putin informed Obama that will Russian speakers had been under threat through Ukraine's new leaders, whom took over after Yanukovich fled massive protests against his repression as well as rejection of the trade deal using the European Union.

Putin reiterated which stance inside a telephone contact along with Merkel upon Sunday, the actual Kremlin said, adding he along with Merkel agreed that Russia and Germany would continue consultation services for you to seek the actual "normalization" in the situation.

But in the indicator of interest among Russian liberals, members regarding Putin's very own human rights council urged him on Sunday not to invade Ukraine, saying threats faced through Russians there weren't severe enough in order to justify submitting troops.

Ukraine, which in turn says it's got absolutely no aim of threatening Russian speakers, has appealed regarding help to NATO, as well as right to Britain as well as the United States, as co-signatories with Russia into a 1994 accord guaranteeing Ukraine's security.

After an emergency meeting involving NATO ambassadors inside Brussels, the actual alliance referred to as upon Russia to deliver its forces back for you to bases along with refrain through interfering within Ukraine.

Despite expressing "grave concern", NATO did not acknowledge any kind of significant measures in order to use strain for you to Russia, with all the West struggling for you to occur up using a forthright reaction that can not danger pushing your region closer for you to military conflict.

"We urge each get-togethers to right away seek a calm solution via bilateral dialogue, with international facilitation ... and via your dispatch associated with international observers under your auspices in the united Nations security Council or the Organisation for security and Cooperation in Europe," NATO mentioned in a statement.

Washington about Saturday proposed sending monitors for you to Ukraine below the actual U.N. or perhaps OSCE flags.

So far, the particular Western reaction continues to become able to be mainly symbolic. Obama and others suspended preparations for a G8 summit inside Sochi, exactly where Russia offers just finished staging its $50 billion winter Olympic games. A Few countries recalled ambassadors. Britain mentioned its ministers would stay away in the Paralympics due next inside Sochi.

"Right now, I think we possess been dedicated to political, diplomatic as well as economic options," the senior U.S. official informed reporters.

"Frankly our objective is to uphold the particular territorial integrity and also sovereignty regarding Ukraine, not to have a military escalation," he added.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged globe leaders upon Sunday to always be able to work to calm the crisis along with defended Russia's membership of the G8, declaring it enabled the West to speak straight with Moscow.

RUSSIANS IN CRIMEA

Ukraine's military can be ill-matched against its neighbor. Britain's International Institute of Strategic Studies estimates Kiev offers fewer as compared to 130,000 troops below arms, using planes barely ready to end up being able to fly along with few spare parts for any single submarine.

Russia, through contrast, offers spent billions beneath Putin to end up being able to upgrade along with modernize your capabilities involving forces that were dilapidated following your breakup of the Soviet Union. Moscow's particular units have become seen as equals of the greatest in the world.

In Crimea, Ukraine's tiny contingent made zero try to oppose the particular Russians, which bore no insignia on their own uniforms but drove vehicles along with Russian sneak a new peek at this website plates as well as seized government buildings, airports as well as other locations in the past 3 days.

Kiev said its troops were encircled within at least 3 places. It pulled its coast guard vessels out of Crimean ports. Ukraine said its naval fleet's 10 ships were still in Sevastopol and remained loyal for you to Kiev.

Scores associated with Russian troops without insignia were camped outside any base of Ukrainian troops at Perevalnoye, on a highway from Crimea's capital, Simferopol towards your coast.

A representative in the base commander stated troops upon each factors had reached agreement consequently zero blood could be shed.

"We are generally ready to become able to protect the reasons along with our military equipment," Valery Boiko advised Reuters television. "We hope to find a compromise to be reached, any decision, so that will as the actual commander has said, there will be no war."

Igor Mamchev, any Ukrainian navy colonel from yet another tiny base outside Simferopol, informed Ukraine's Channel 5 TV which a truckload involving Russian troops had arrived in his checkpoint and also informed his forces to lay out their own arms.

"I replied that, as I'm the member of your armed forces of Ukraine, beneath orders with the Ukrainian navy, there might be no discussion associated with disarmament. Throughout case associated with virtually any make an effort to enter the military base, we will make use of all means, approximately lethal force."

A unit associated with Ukrainian marines had been also holed up in the base in the Crimean port associated with Feodosia, where that they refused in order to disarm.

Elsewhere about the occupied peninsula, the particular Russian troops assumed the lower profile on Sunday following your pro-Moscow Crimean leader stated overnight the particular scenario has been now "normalized".

Putin's justification citing the need to protect Russian citizens has been the same while he utilized to launch any 2008 invasion involving Georgia, where Russian forces seized a couple of breakaway regions.

In Russia, state-controlled media portray Yanukovich's removal as becoming a coup by simply harmful extremists funded from the West and there may be small sign of dissent your line.

In Donetsk, Yanukovich's home city, the actual neighborhood government constructing ended up being flying the actual Russian flag for that 2nd day about Sunday. The Particular local authorities get referred for you to as for any referendum around the region's status, a new transfer Kiev says is actually illegal. Any pro-Russian "self-defence" unit held any 2nd day regarding protest, attracting concerning 1,000 demonstrators carrying Russian flags.

(Additional reporting by simply Peter Graff, Sabina Zawadzki, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Heritage and also Stephen Grey within Kiev, Lina Kushch throughout Donetsk, Peter Apps as well as Guy Faulconbridge inside London, Will Dunham, Arshad Mohammed as well as Matt Spetalnick within Washington, and also Lou Charbonneau at the United Nations; Composing by Peter Graff, Paul Taylor, Frances Kerry along with Peter Cooney; Editing through Philippa Fletcher, Meredith Mazzilli and also Mohammad Zargham)

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