Crisis in Crimea (updated)

The situation on the peninsula in recent days has become very critical. Roads to Crimea were blocked by armed men with Russian flags. The Crimean parliament called a referendum and disbanded the government. Unknown people seized the buildings of the Crimean Parliament and the Government of Crimea, the airports of Sevastopol and Simferopol.

(Total 14 photos)

1. On February 26, about 5 thousand Crimean Tatars approached the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea in Simferopol, where a rally was held demanding that the leadership of the region not recognize the new government in Kyiv. The majority of Crimean Tatars support the change of power in Ukraine and fear the split of the country. Displaced from their lands in 1944 and returned to the peninsula in the late 1980s, the majority of Crimean Tatars oppose the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation.

2. On February 26, at 11:00 am, a rally of thousands began under the building of the Crimean Parliament. On the one hand, BP was picketed by Crimean Tatars and activists of the local Euromaidan with the slogan "Crimea is not Russia", on the other hand, by supporters of pro-Russian organizations.

3. On that day, the Crimean Parliament did not open its extraordinary session scheduled for 15.00. The reason is that an insufficient number of deputies gathered for a quorum: only 49 people. Pictured: Pro-Russian activists pray outside the Crimean Parliament on February 26.

4. During the rally on the 26th in Simferopol, a conflict began between the Crimean Tatars and the participants in the rally against the new authorities.

5. After clashes between members of pro-Russian organizations, Euromaidan supporters and Crimean Tatars, many people were injured. In total, 35 people turned to doctors. The victims were diagnosed with craniocerebral trauma, blunt abdominal trauma. Two people died as a result of clashes - a man died of a heart attack, and one woman was trampled in the crowd.

6. The police were unable to separate the participants of the two rallies; the policemen who were near the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea did not have shields, helmets and clubs.

7. On the night of February 27, the buildings of the Crimean Parliament and the Government of Crimea were seized by unknown armed men without identification marks. According to an employee of the press center of the Crimean parliament, "unknown people broke into the building, removed the guards and got inside." In the photo: a rally near the building of the Crimean Parliament on February 27.

8. The capture took place according to a clear, pre-planned scenario. First, about 30 people broke into the building. After the policemen were taken out of there, a bus drove up from which about 30 more people got off with a large amount of ammunition, among which were Kalashnikov assault rifles, SVD sniper rifles, and RPG grenade launchers. In front of the entrance to the parliament building, a barricade of improvised items (wooden pallets, garbage cans, etc.) was erected. The building is cordoned off by the police.

9. Later it became known that the roads in the area of Dzhankoy and Armyansk were blocked. Checkpoints appeared at the entrance to Crimea, which are guarded by soldiers of the disbanded Berkut.

10. On the night of February 28, several dozen well-armed men entered the territory of the Simferopol airport. The Sevastopol airport Belbek was also captured.

11. The new Prime Minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that Russia would provide financial assistance to Crimea, which was agreed with Viktor Yanukovych. He expressed the hope that Russia would "help Crimea", including with money.

12. The Border Service of Ukraine confirmed that the Sevastopol detachment of the sea guard in Balaklava was blocked by the Russian military. The message on the website of the department says that these are marines from the 810th brigade.

13. About thirty Marines arrived at the detachment in four cars. They positioned themselves in front of the checkpoint, surrounding the entire perimeter and placing snipers at the heights. The fighters were led by captain of the first rank Alexander Tolmachev. He demanded that the Ukrainian military not leave the unit. According to him, this is necessary in order to prevent the seizure of weapons by extremists. In the photo: The territory of the border detachment in Balaklava. Photo by Twitter user @zlovv

14. Also in the morning, the missile boat of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation "Ivanovets" stopped on the roadstead of Balaklava Bay, five cables (about a kilometer) from the coast, allegedly due to an engine failure, blocking the exit of Ukrainian ships. In the photo: "Ivanovets" from the site dpsu.gov.ua

In addition, the border service confirmed that more than ten Russian helicopters crossed the Ukrainian border on February 28. At the same time, only three cars were registered at the checkpoint, the rest thus violated bilateral agreements. A video of allegedly these helicopters has already appeared on the Internet.

The military of the Russian Federation under the cover of night redeploy in the Crimea

16. A referendum on the status of autonomy will be held in Crimea on March 30. This was stated by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic Sergei Aksyonov. “In connection with the need, we decided to speed up the holding of a referendum on the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The referendum is scheduled for March 30,” Aksyonov said during the first meeting of the Crimean Council of Ministers in the new composition.