FEODOSIA: Russian troops used stun grenades to force their way into a Ukrainian marine base in Crimea early on Monday, overrunning one of the last symbols of resistance left after Moscow wrestled the peninsula away from Kiev, Ukrainian officials said.
The Russians fired weapons as they charged into the compound in the port city of Feodosia, and Ukrainian officers were taken away for questioning, a soldier inside and a Ukrainian military official told Reuters.
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 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.
Moscow formally annexed Crimea on March 21, five days after the region overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to join Russia, in a move not recognized by Kiev and the West. (Reuters)
