The new pro-Russian leader of Ukraine's southern Crimea region has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for help in maintaining peace, as international concerns mount that Moscow may intervene militarily in the crisis.
A Kremlin spokesman said Russia "will not disregard" Crimean Premier Sergey Aksyonov's request for help "in maintaining peace and accord in Crimea."
Aksyonov, who was installed as the region's premier after armed men took over the Crimean parliament building Thursday, said security forces "are unable to efficiently control the situation in the republic," in comments broadcast on Russian state channel Russia 24.
Consequently, he said, he was taking charge of security. His actions are also a response to Kiev's actions in appointing a new police chief in Crimea on Friday without consulting the parliament, he said.
"I am appealing to Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide assistance in ensuring peace and accord" in Crimea, he said.
Russia could send a "limited" armed force to Crimea to ensure security of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Russian citizens living there, the Speaker of Russia's Upper House of Parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, said Saturday, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Matviyenko cited the necessity to ensure the safety of the Black Sea Fleet and Russian citizens residing in Crimea. But she acknowledged that "this decision surely rests with our president, the supreme commander-in-chief."
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| RUSSIAN TANKS ON THE MOVE |
The latest developments come as the newly appointed interim government in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, seeks to prevent tensions in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula with a majority-Russian population, escalating into a full-blown bid for separation.
Ukraine suspects Russia of fomenting separatist tensions in the autonomous region.
Aksyonov said Saturday that the date for a referendum on greater Crimean autonomy would be moved up from May 25 to March 30.
The crisis in Crimea has echoed round the world, with the U.N. Security Council president holding a private meeting about the crisis enveloping Ukraine on Friday and world leaders calling on armed groups not to attempt to challenge Ukrainian sovereignty.
Yatsenyuk: Russian actions are provocation
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaking at a Cabinet meeting Saturday, said the government believes the "disproportionate Russian presence in Crimea is nothing but a provocation." But, he said, Russia's attempts to provoke the Ukrainian government to respond with force have failed.
"Ukraine will not be provoked, we will not use force, we demand that the government of the Russian Federation immediately withdraw its troops and return to their home bases," he said.
Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, insisted Friday that Ukraine would defend its sovereignty and that "any attempts of intrusion or annexation will have very serious consequences."
Russia fired back Saturday, amid the claim and counter-claim over the rapidly moving events in Crimea.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Saturday it was "extremely concerned" by the situation and that in the early hours, unidentified gunmen "directed from Kiev" had attempted to take control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Crimea. Self-defense groups averted the attempt, it said.
The ministry accused political figures in Kiev of trying to destabilize the peninsula, which has historic links to Russia. And it called for restraint, saying "it is irresponsible to continue whipping the already tense situation in the Crimea."
Airspace closed
Ukraine on Friday accused Russian Black Sea forces of trying to seize two airports in Crimea but said Ukrainian security forces prevented them from taking control.
Mysterious groups of armed men, dressed in uniforms without identifying insignia, patrolled the airports in the regional capital, Simferopol, and the nearby port city of Sevastopol, where Russia has a major military base for its Black Sea fleet.
The armed men remained at the airports Saturday and Yevgey Plaksin, director of the airport in the regional capital, Simferopol, said Crimean airspace would remain closed until the evening local time.
Unidentified, balaclava-clad armed men also took up position outside the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol on Saturday, as a small pro-Russian protest was held, and controlled who could enter. A roadblock was also reported on the route into the city.
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaliy Churkin, on Friday compared the reports of Russian troops taking charge of positions on the ground to rumors that "are always not true."
We are acting within the framework of our agreement," he said. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that maneuvers of armored vehicles from the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea were needed for security and were in line with bilateral agreements.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's largest telecom firm was unable to provide data and voice connectivity between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine because unknown people had seized telecommunications nodes and destroyed cables, it said Friday.
Obama: Warning to Russia
The United States urged Russia on Friday to pull back from the region or face possible consequences.
"We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside Ukraine," U.S. President Barack Obama said in televised comments from the White House. "...It would be a clear violation of Russia's commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine and of international laws."
Obama said any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be "deeply destabilizing, and he warned "the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."
The country, which is sandwiched between Europe and Russia's western border, has been plunged into chaos since the ouster a week ago of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, following bloody street protests. He resurfaced Friday in the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, where he said he had not been overthrown and vowed to fight on for Ukraine's future.
Financial woes
Besides the dramatic events unfolding in Crimea, Ukraine's new government also faces the challenge of getting the country's cash-strapped economy back on track. A promised $15 billion loan from Russia, agreed in November by Yanukovych after he dropped the EU deal, is now on hold. Russia also promised to slash natural gas prices.
However, Russian energy giant Gazprom said Saturday that Ukraine is $1.55 billion in arrears on payments for natural gas deliveries, which may force the firm to cancel the discount agreed to last year, Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency said.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Russia has issued a $3 billion line of credit to Ukraine to help it cover its gas debts, the bulk of which are from last year -- but payments must be respected.
Ukrainian authorities have said they will need $35 billion in foreign funds by the end of 2015.
CNN
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