http://metro.co.uk/2014/03/09/russia-seizes-army-airport-in-lead-up-to-crimea-vote-4500427/
Russia seizes army airport in lead-up to Crimea vote
Daniel Binns
Sunday 9 Mar 2014 9:13 pm
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Pro-Russian supporters attend a rally in Simferopol (Picture: Reuters)
A pro-Russian military force sealed off a military airport in Crimea as tension rose ahead of a planned vote on the region’s future.
The 80-strong unit of armed men set up machine-gun posts along the landing strip in Saki with the help of civilians wielding sticks and clubs.
It was the third airport seized by Russian forces and came as the takeover of Crimea spread over the weekend.
Soldiers also seized a border post in the west of the region.
Meanwhile BBC reporter Ben Brown was caught up in clashes when a mob of Russian supporters, including some armed with baseball bats, fought rival protesters in Sevastopol.
‘We were seconds away from being beaten up,’ he tweeted. ‘Now safely back in hotel but increasingly scary for journalists.’
Some of the anti-Moscow demonstrators in Crimea told reporters they would not take part in next Sunday’s referendum on whether they want the territory to split from Ukraine and join Russia.
Foreign secretary William Hague said he doubted the vote would be ‘free or fair’ and warned Moscow risked being isolated from the rest of the world.
He told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘I think this will turn out over time to be quite a big miscalculation.’
In Kiev, Ukraine’s interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk vowed not to give up ‘a single centimetre’ of land to Russia. He will fly to the US on Wednesday to meet president Barack Obama at the White House.
In Britain, David Cameron again spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin as each side expressed a ‘common interest’ in scaling down the crisis.
Russia seizes army airport in lead-up to Crimea vote
Daniel Binns
Sunday 9 Mar 2014 9:13 pm
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Pro-Russian supporters attend a rally in Simferopol (Picture: Reuters)
A pro-Russian military force sealed off a military airport in Crimea as tension rose ahead of a planned vote on the region’s future.
The 80-strong unit of armed men set up machine-gun posts along the landing strip in Saki with the help of civilians wielding sticks and clubs.
It was the third airport seized by Russian forces and came as the takeover of Crimea spread over the weekend.
Soldiers also seized a border post in the west of the region.
Meanwhile BBC reporter Ben Brown was caught up in clashes when a mob of Russian supporters, including some armed with baseball bats, fought rival protesters in Sevastopol.
‘We were seconds away from being beaten up,’ he tweeted. ‘Now safely back in hotel but increasingly scary for journalists.’
Some of the anti-Moscow demonstrators in Crimea told reporters they would not take part in next Sunday’s referendum on whether they want the territory to split from Ukraine and join Russia.
Foreign secretary William Hague said he doubted the vote would be ‘free or fair’ and warned Moscow risked being isolated from the rest of the world.
He told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘I think this will turn out over time to be quite a big miscalculation.’
In Kiev, Ukraine’s interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk vowed not to give up ‘a single centimetre’ of land to Russia. He will fly to the US on Wednesday to meet president Barack Obama at the White House.
In Britain, David Cameron again spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin as each side expressed a ‘common interest’ in scaling down the crisis.
