The situation in Ukraine holds grave consequences for the security of Europe and the rest of the world. By introducing troops into Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, Russia has violated at least five international agreements, including the 1975 Helsinki Final Act.
Yuriy Sergeyev, Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador claimed Russia used planes, boats and helicopters to flood the peninsula with 16,000 troops. And Ukrainian officials say disguised Russian troops have laid siege to military installations.
Yet Russian President Vladimir Putin denied sending members of his military into Crimea or that any of the up to 25,000 Russian troops already stationed in the country had any role in the standoff, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency. He insisted his military isn’t planning to seize the Crimean peninsula but didn’t close the door on action “to protect local people.”
The tense, high-stakes standoff between Ukraine and Russia continued, with both sides insisting they don’t want war but publicly offering little evidence of their willingness to budge.
Ukrainian officials’ attempts to peacefully prevent a full-scale war over the Crimean peninsula, which had been part of Russia until it was ceded to Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev Petro Poroshenko, a Ukrainian parliamentarian said ousted Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia last week after months of public unrest against his government that ultimately boiled over into violence, has no legitimacy.
That includes having no right to ask Russia to send troops into Ukraine to restore him to what he feels is his rightful post as President, according to Poroshenko, who insisted only Parliament can invite foreign troops.
While no blood has been spilled between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries, no one is breathing easy especially amid reports of Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea being under siege.
On Sunday, a U.S. official said Russian forces have “complete operational control” of Crimea. Several hundred men wearing dark green camouflage uniforms without insignias surrounded Ukraine’s Perevalnoye base Sunday near the Crimean capital of Simferopol. Till today, the situation remained tense, and the base was still surrounded.
Andriy Parubiy, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told Parliament that its security presence placed at checkpoints along the border. As the governments jostle, Ukrainian citizens are in limbo. They are worried about being cut off from gas, electricity or the Internet, as well as the prospect of living under Russian rule.
Poroshenko, who is heading Ukraine’s efforts to forge a peaceful resolution over Crimea, said his government is constantly trying to have conversations with Moscow. The escalation process and the temperature on the Crimea are rising up.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to construct what a senior U.S. administration official characterized as an “off-ramp” for Putin by having international observers in Crimea to ensure ethnic Russians’ rights aren’t violated. President Barack Obama floated this idea in a call Saturday with Putin, and he and Merkel talked about it too. It is noted that NATO members are set to meet with Russia’s ambassador to the alliance, which gathered in emergency session amid Poland’s fears that any potential conflict could spread around the region.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that despite repeated calls by the international community, Russia continues to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and continues to violate its international commitments. There’s no indication yet NATO will intervene militarily, but its members may take action other ways.
Ukraine’s Parliament confirmed a deal to receive loans from the European Union worth 610 million euros, the equivalent of nearly USD$839 million. Representatives of the International Monetary Fund were headed to the country to begin inspections ahead of a possible financial deal. And U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has announced a $1 billion loan guarantee for Ukraine. Kerry also said that not a single piece of credible evidence supports Russian explanations for its move into Crimea. Kerry had also mentioned that the United States will stand by the Ukrainian people as they build the strong democratic country they deserve.
Containment of Russian forces on the Crimean peninsula is an unsustainable and dangerous proposition. By acceding to Russian occupation, the United States and Europe would be effectively writing off the peninsula. Consents to these aggressive actions could invite a further land grab into eastern Ukraine.
Disappointingly, it is noted that till at this present time, Malaysian government has not taken any stand on this issue. Why is that so? We should strongly and forcefully condemn Russia for moving into Crimea. We should call upon Russia to back off from Russia immediately. The ultimate aim of diplomacy should, therefore, be to ensure the phased withdrawal of Russian troops under international observation back to the bases covered by the existing agreement between Russia and Ukraine.