Russian armed forces escalate Crimean conflict

Russian armed forces in Ukraine escalated the Crimean conflict on March 5, reportedly sinking two of their own ships in order to block a channel and the Ukrainian ships there. Russian forces also threatened several high-ranking officials and continuing to demand the surrender of military bases. Among those targeted was United Nations Special Envoy Robert Serry, who was blocked in his car by unidentified armed men claiming they had orders to escort him back to the airport, reported the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency. He refused to join them and instead retreated to a café. Crowds chanting “Russia!” and “Putin!” berated Serry until he agreed to return to the airport. Earlier that day, pro-Russian activists surrounded a Simferopol hotel and blocked from exiting Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE representative on media freedom, reported the Ukrayinska Pravda news site. She ended up escaping the hotel and traveling to Kyiv, as planned.

Also that day, a colonel general with the Customs Service was reported to have been kidnapped, though Mykhaylo Koval confirmed hours after the alleged abduction that he was safe. Earlier in the day, he was at a border post where Russian forces demanded that state officials pledge loyalty to the new Crimean government. They promised higher salaries and new ships. Border agents reported themselves and their close relatives being threatened, as well as being tracked, for refusing to surrender.

The Russian government is relocating its armies in Crimea in order to ensure that the OSCE mission doesn’t fixate their presence, said National Security and Defense Council Andriy Parubiy on March 5. Those forces within the Russian Black Sea Fleet that are allowed on Ukrainian territory will be exposed, while those forces from Russia are being transferred to bases, he said. “But the armies of the Black Sea Fleet and the Russian Federation have been and will be on the Crimean peninsula,” he said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed as nonsense on March 5 video evidence in which unmarked men on Ukrainian territory admitted they’re Russian soldiers. Russian officials have asserted such fighters are Crimean residents who volunteered for self-defense units. When asked whether there are Russian soldiers on Crimean territory, he responded, “Absolutely, no,” reported the Interfax news agency. He also said he doesn’t know how Crimean self-defense forces gained access to armed vehicles used exclusively by the Russian army.

Armed men have blocked land access to a Ukrainian ship, the Ternopil, docked in the Sevastopol port, reported Freedom party politicians on March 5, citing their conversations with the ship’s commander. The crew is preparing for an armed conflict after observing preparations for the ship’s seizure, the commander reported. The armed men have sniper rifles, machine guns and automatic weapons.

Meanwhile, eight border posts were blocked on March 5, reported Pavlo Shysholin, the head of the Ukrainian Border Service. “Not one of them has left the state border, even considering that the Kerch border service, a car ferry, is surrounded by more than 100 armed men,” he said. The Border Service stopped 500 Russian citizens on March 5 from travelling to Ukraine to participate in secessionist rallies, he said. In Sevastopol, electricity was cut to the residences of Ukrainian soldiers and their families, the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency reported, citing the Defense Ministry of Ukraine. More than 100 families were evacuated because the buildings lacked natural gas heating as well.