Crimea parliament schedules independence vote, Russians take airports

The parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea voted on Feb. 27 to hold a referendum on May 25, the same day of presidential elections, to decide whether to declare an independent state that will base its relations with the Ukrainian state on pacts and agreements. The decision was approved by 61 out of 64 MPs. The parliament also passed a no-confidence vote in the Council of Ministers of Crimea and reduced its authority. That morning, about 50 unidentified armed fighters took control of the Crimean parliament building and another 50 took over the Council of Ministers building. They were identified as pro-Russian activists who are Crimean residents by Mustafa Dzhemilov, a Crimean Tatar leader.

In response to the declaration, the Central Election Commission in Kyiv reported that the law on local referenda upon which the Crimean parliament based its declaration on is no longer valid.

Close to midnight on Feb 27-28, Russian soldiers accompanied by trucks and armed personnel carriers occupied the Crimean airports of Sevastopol and Simferopol, reported on Feb. 28 Arsen Avakov, the internal affairs minister. They claimed they are here to “prevent the arrival of militants,” the Interfax news agency reported. Avakov characterized their presence as “an intervention and occupation in violation of all international agreement and norms.”

Russian armed forces spent Feb. 27 rehearsing military preparedness drills on its western borders, reported the 1+1 television network. They involved 1,000 tanks, 120 rotorcrafts, 90 fighter planes, 80 ships and 150,000 soldiers.

As of Feb. 27, Russian soldiers have been blocking Crimea’s airports in Simferopol and Sevastopol, which is “a military intervention and occupation in violation of all international agreement and norms,” said on Feb. 28 Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov. “The Internal Army and Internal Affairs Ministry of Ukraine bolstered their detachments in the airport’s vicinity,” he said. “Tensions are rising. Law enforcement organs won’t be able to countervail this with regal military forces.”

Zenon Zawada: The Russian government is taking revenge for the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych, which is clearly demonstrated by selecting May 25 as the referendum date. The Ukrainian government and its military are largely powerless in Crimea and are vulnerable to whatever political arrangement the Russian government pursues there.

We believe Russia is trying to provoke the Ukrainians to use force, which would escalate the conflict and prompt a full-scale military operation in Ukraine or Crimea, under the scenario they did in Gerogia in August 2008. Things are complicated by the fact that Moscow has not officially recognized the new Ukrainian government and it still considers Viktor Yanukovych as the legitimate Ukrainian president. Under such circumstances, the new government has to behave very carefully in Crimea and ask for diplomatic support from the West. Ukraine’s territorial integrity is guaranted by the so-called Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances signed between Ukraine, Russia, UK and the U.S. back in 1994, and we hope that Russia will obey this deal.