Russian upper house approves use of military force in Ukraine
Russia's upper house of Parliament voted unanimously Saturday to
approve sending Russian military forces into Ukraine, amid mounting
tensions in the country's Crimea region and in defiance of warnings from
Western powers.
The vote followed a
request from Russian President Vladimir Putin for approval to send
troops into Crimea to normalize the political situation there.
Putin cited the
"extraordinary situation in Ukraine" in making his request, adding that
the lives of Russian citizens and military personnel based in the
southern Crimea region had been threatened.
Ukraine's new government condemned the move.
Amid the uncertainty, about 300 gunmen wearing Russian Special Forces
uniforms attempted to take over the Sevastopol unit of the Ukrainian
Coast Guard, a senior official with the Ukrainian Border Service said
Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Coast Guard had moved its ships to a position
away from the coast where they were approached by three motorboats and a
cruiser from the Russian Black Sea Fleet...
As the situation in the autonomous republic of Crimea escalated on Feb.
28, the President of the United States Barack Obama warned that "there
will be costs" for any military intervention in Ukraine.
"Together with our European allies we have urged an end to
the violence and encouraged Ukrainians to pursue a course in which
they stabilize their country, forge a broad-based government and move to
elections this spring," he said.
The president added that he had also spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and made clear "they can be part of
the international community's effort to support the stability and success of a
united Ukraine going forward, which is not only in the interest of Ukriane… but
also the international community.
"However we are now deeply concerned by military movements taken by the Russian federation inside of Ukraine," Obama said.
"Russia has a historic
relationship with Ukraine, including a cultural and economic ties. And a military facility in Crimea. But an violation
of Ukraine's sovereignty and integrity would be deeply destablizing, which is
not in the interest of Ukraine, Russia or Europe," he added.
"It
would be a clear violation of Russia's commitment to respect
Ukraine’s independence and sovereign borders, and to Ukrainian and
international laws," the president said.
Just after the Sochi Olympic games, he said, Russian intervention in Crimea "would invite
international condemnation from countries around the world.
"And
indeed, the United States will stand with the international community in
affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in
Ukraine," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment