BELBEK, Crimea — NATO’s top military commander warned Sunday that Russia could seek to expand its territorial conquest to new areas, just a day after Russian forces seized some of the final Ukrainian military installations in the contested Crimean Peninsula.
SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — American and Ukrainian officials warned Sunday that Russia may be poised to expand its territorial conquest into eastern Ukraine and beyond, with a senior NATO official saying that Moscow might even order its troops to cross Ukraine to reach Moldova.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, said Russia had assembled a large force on Ukraine’s eastern border that could pose a threat to Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region.
The warnings came as Russia was finalizing its takeover of Ukrainian military bases in Crimea, the peninsula it occupied at the start of March and subsequently annexed.
“The [Russian] force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready,” Breedlove said at an event sponsored by the German Marshall Fund.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya, appearing on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” said the prospect of war with Russia is growing.
Ukraine’s east is also considered under threat; Ukrainian officials have been warning for weeks that Russia is trying to provoke a conflict there, a charge Russia denies.
“We don’t know what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has in his mind and what will be his decision,” Deshchytsya said. “That’s why this situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago.”
But Breedlove said Russian ambitions extend beyond Ukraine.
In Brussels, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, said Russia had assembled a large force on Ukraine’s eastern border that could be planning to head for Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region, 200 miles away.
“There is absolutely sufficient force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transdniestria if the decision was made to do that, and that is very worrisome," Breedlove said.
Ukrainian officials have been warning for weeks that Russia is trying to provoke a conflict in eastern Ukraine, a charge that Russia denies. But Breedlove said Russian ambitions do not stop there.
Transdniestria, a narrow strip of land wedged between the rest of Moldova and southern Ukraine, proclaimed its independence in 1990. Although the move was not recognized internationally, the region has its own constitution and currency, and pro-Russian sentiment there runs high. Russian forces are also stationed in the territory — as they were in Crimea even before the current crisis began.
“There is absolutely sufficient force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transnistria if the decision was made to do that, and that is very worrisome,” Breedlove said.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Russia is complying with all international agreements on troop limits near its border with Ukraine, according to Russian news services.
Russia’s intent unclear
Antonov said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had discussed the situation with foreign counterparts, including U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, “in recent months.”
A drive into Transnistria would mark an extraordinary deepening of Russia’s military thrust into former Soviet territory and sharply escalate tensions with the West. Transnistria, a narrow strip of land the size of Rhode Island that is wedged between the rest of Moldova and southern Ukraine, proclaimed its independence in 1990. Its population went on to vote in 2006 to seek eventual unification with Russia.
“Shoigu firmly informed all of them about the real situation on the border, and the absence of any intention to concentrate forces there,” Antonov said, according to the Interfax news service.
Although those moves were not recognized internationally, the region has its own constitution and currency, and pro-Russian sentiment there runs high. About 1,200 Russian troops are stationed in the territory — fewer than were in Crimea, the site of a key Russian naval base, before the current crisis began.
Breedlove’s comments come a day after Russian forces in armored personnel carriers broke through the walls of an air base near Belbek, one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea, quickly overpowering Ukrainian troops armed only with sticks. After the Russians took over the base, its Ukrainian commander was detained, according to news reports.
In Washington, a senior Defense Department official said it was “difficult to know what [Russia’s] intent is; they’re not exactly being transparent.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.
The fall of the air base, along with the loss of a second Ukrainian air base Saturday near the Crimean town of Novofedorivka and the storming of a Ukrainian ship, removed some of the last barriers to total Russian control of Crimea.
During a conversation Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu assured U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that Russian troops on the Ukrainian border were merely conducting a regular “spring” exercise and that Russia had no intention of sending the forces across the international line, the U.S. official said.
The takeovers came less than a week after Crimeans voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to leave Ukraine and join Russia. In their speed, the base seizures — which had progressed all week — were emblematic of Crimea’s swift absorption into the Russian Federation, even as Ukraine’s leaders reiterated Saturday that they do not recognize the annexation.
But at the same time, the official said, “They have enough troops close enough and, most likely, ready enough that we would have very little notice” if they decided to move farther outside Russia.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces were in control of 189 military units and institutions in Crimea, according to the news agency RIA. Only one significant base is believed to remain in Ukrainian hands — the Feodosia naval marine base. The Ukrainian marines are an elite force that is considered fiercely loyal to Ukraine. But the base has been surrounded by Russian forces for two weeks.
Russian news services quoted Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov as saying Sunday that Russia is complying with all international agreements on troop limits near its border with Ukraine.
Fall of Belbek air base
In Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, members of a visiting U.S. congressional delegation said Ukrainian officials were determined to prevent any further Russian incursion into their territory.
The Ukrainians put up no resistance on the orders of the Belbek base commander, Col. Yuli Mamchur, who has become a symbol of Ukrainian spirit for his steely defiance of repeated Russian demands that the tactical air wing surrender and relinquish all weapons.
“This would be no Crimea,” Sen. Joe Donnelly (D–Ind.) said at a news conference, adding that Putin would find himself having to explain why young Russian men were coming home in coffins. “Ukraine is ready to fight.”
Most of the 200 or so troops on the base have weapons, but Mamchur was determined to avoid casualties. So when four Russian personnel carriers drove through a concrete wall and rammed down the wrought-iron front gate after an hours-long standoff, Mamchur’s men were waiting with sticks that appeared to have been fashioned from broken broom handles, tree branches, railing dowels, table legs and croquet mallets.
Takeover of bases
Two ambulances sped from the scene within minutes of the Russian incursion. Mamchur said one of his men had been kicked and beaten by the advancing Russians. It was unclear whether there were other casualties.
Russia’s forces are on the verge of completing a methodical takeover of Ukrainian military bases scattered across Crimea. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Russian flag is flying over 189 military installations on the peninsula.
Russian infantrymen armed with automatic rifles rushed through the two gaping holes in the wall and shouted for the Ukrainians gathered outside the base headquarters building to move back. The Ukrainians stood their ground and responded with a stream of Russian curse words.
The last base that was functioning under full Ukrainian authority came under Russian control Saturday, when Russian troops stormed an air base at Belbek outside the port city of Sevastopol.
“We have done everything we could,” Mamchur told the men and women in his command. “You acted with honor. There is nothing we should be ashamed of.”
Col. Yuli Mamchur, the base commander whose defiance of the Russians had come to symbolize Ukrainian resistance to the annexation of Crimea, is unaccounted for.
Then the Ukrainians lined up two deep and sang the Ukrainian national anthem.
Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said Mamchur had been abducted and demanded his release. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Vladislav Seleznyov, told the Reuters news agency that Mamchur and several other officers had been captured by Russian troops and had not been released.
The Ukrainian ship Slavutych in Sevastopol harbor was also stormed Saturday evening by a combination of Russian special forces and the Crimean “self defense” units they cooperate with, said a defense ministry official.
The only major base that has not been totally taken over by Russian troops is a Ukrainian navy marine facility in the port city of Feodosia. On Sunday, Russian troops controlled the base’s entrance, and dozens of Russian military vehicles were just inside the entrance or in a parking lot across the street. The base is home to an elite fighting force that is similar to the U.S. Marines, and they have a reputation for being highly trained and heavily armed.
Vladislav Seleznyov, a ministry spokesman, said the incursion lasted two hours. The Slavutych has been boxed in for more than three weeks, unable to leave because the Russian Navy sank a ship at the entrance to the bay.
Russian flags flew around the perimeter of the facility, while a few Ukrainian flags fluttered deep inside the base, sometimes alongside the Russian banner. As viewed from a neighboring soccer stadium, the front doors to two headquarters buildings were fortified with sandbags. Ukrainian marines could be observed loading long boxes into two trucks backed up to the entrance of one building.
He also said that a Ukrainian ship in Donuzlav Bay, which is blocked in by a sunken ship at the entrance to the Black Sea, remains in Ukrainian hands.
Two Ukrainian officers on the base who came outside the gate to speak with reporters said the boxes contained weapons to be stored in an arsenal. They said their superiors are still hoping to negotiate permission to bring their weapons with them when they withdraw, a concession that the Russians did not grant to commanders at other Ukrainian bases.
The storming of the Belbek installation capped a surreal day characterized by spurts of melancholy, boredom, joy and calculated preparations for a takeover.
“The important thing is, our flag is still up there,” said Capt. Aleksandr Lantukh, one of the officers, when asked about the plethora of Russian flags.
At 8:30 a.m., smoke wafted over the base near Sevastopol as soldiers tossed documents into two bonfires at the perimeter. Troops milled around killing time before a confrontation they knew was inevitable. One serviceman sat on a wall picking out a Beethoven melody on a piano app on his phone, “to lighten the mood,” he said.
The two officers painted a picture of a base that is struggling to keep functioning as some troops have decided to return to Ukraine and others have decided to join the Russian armed forces in Crimea.
When a group of Russians arrived to talk with Mamchur, he refused to allow them onto the base and instead walked out to meet them on a street corner. He leaned against a faded yellow taxi as the Russians urged him to give up weapons and allow his troops to depart along a planned safe corridor.
“Not only are the country and cities divided, our souls are divided,” Lt. Anatoly Mosgovy said. “We have friends. Some have families — the father is going to Ukraine and the mother and children will stay. But there is no tension in the base. We decided to be polite with each other and not exchange any bad words.”
Residents of a nearby village gathered on the rise of a hill to watch. Several men shouted anti-gay slurs at the Ukrainian commander. A woman berated him loudly for having an armed security detail. Posters have appeared near the base saying that Mamchur should be executed. Some people shouted that he was hiding behind his troops to advance his own career. One man said the real commander was Mamchur’s wife.
Despite the determination to remain civil, Lantukh and Mosgovy made clear that they do not understand why some of their colleagues have decided to become Russian citizens and soldiers.
Mamchur said he had no contact with the government in Kiev and was making decisions on his own. Several Ukrainian troops said they feel ignored and abandoned by the military leadership.
“A uniform is not for sale,” Lantukh said. “You cannot buy it. You cannot sell it.”
After the talks concluded with no agreement, Mamchur returned to the base to officiate at the wedding of the two lieutenants in his command. Both the bride and the groom wore blue jeans and black jackets, and more than 100 troops lined up to fete them with champagne, chocolates, figs and cookies.
The Ukrainian soldiers’ departure is expected within days, through a safe corridor.
“I am very happy you decided to marry now, and here,” Mamchur told them, then popped the first cork and danced with the bride’s best friend.
Citizens of Crimea voted overwhelmingly in a referendum March 16 to join Russia.
Soon another Russian officer appeared at the gate to deliver an ultimatum demanding that the Ukrainians surrender their weapons and abandon the base. They had one hour, Mamchur said he was told.
On Sunday, Putin ordered that police, civil defense, domestic intelligence and other governmental structures in Crimea must follow Russian law and procedures by March 29.
But one hour stretched into two and then three, as Russian vehicles rolled into position, visible from a distant hilltop. Women and elderly men from the village moved close to the fence and swore at the Ukrainian soldiers patrolling the perimeter. One elderly man tore down a “no trespassing” sign, angrily ripped it to pieces and tossed the pieces over the fence.
On Monday, the Russian ruble is to be introduced in Crimea as an official currency alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia.
Uniformed men standing shoulder to shoulder suddenly appeared outside the gate. They seemed to be a mix of Russian regular troops wearing balaclavas and carrying sophisticated weaponry, Cossacks in fur hats, and unarmed pro-Russia militiamen. But when the assault began at 4:45 p.m., the force was all Russian regulars.
The Ukrainian government in Kiev refuses to recognize the annexation.
It took seconds for the armored vehicles to slice through the concrete walls, followed by a rush of infantrymen. Gunfire and the percussion boom of stun grenades filled the air.
DeYoung reported from Washington. Will Englund in Moscow, Kathy Lally in Kiev and Griff Witte in London contributed to this report.
“Why did you shoot?” one Ukrainian demanded angrily. “We didn’t fire a single round.”
“This is already Russia,” one Russian soldier shouted at the Ukrainian troops who refused to obey his order to move.
Ukrainian flags were still flying from the gatehouse and the flagpole outside base headquarters when journalists were rounded up and led away after having some of their camera equipment confiscated. The Russian banner was certain to replace those flags.
After the Russians took over the base, Mamchur reportedly was detained. Conflicting news reports on his whereabouts indicated he may have been released, but his former troops say they have not seen nor heard from him since Saturday.
Ukraine President Oleksandr Turchynov, in a statement, said Mamchur was “abducted” by Russian forces. He didn’t specify where Mamchur is believed to be held. However, prominent politician Vitali Klitschko said Sunday that Mamchur is being held by the Russian military in a jail in Sevastopol, the Crimean city that is the base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to the Associated Press.
Reaction in Europe
The base and ship takeovers came as Russia said it would not allow access to Crimea for international monitors who are being dispatched to Ukraine. Up to 400 monitors are to deploy across the country, including in Ukraine’s volatile south and east. Clashes in those areas in recent weeks between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian demonstrators have turned deadly. Pro-Russian rallies were held in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv on Saturday.
The European Union, following the lead of the United States, added a dozen names Friday to its list of Russian officials subject to visa and financial restrictions. But efforts by eastern members of the E.U. to pursue much tougher measures were rebuffed by leaders of bigger countries worried about the consequences on their economies.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday called Europe’s moves “divorced from reality” and said Russia reserves the right to respond.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in an editorial in the Sunday Telegraph that Russia faced "isolation and stagnation" over its "outrageous land grab."
“This is the most serious risk to European security we have seen so far in the 21st Century,” Hague wrote.
He vowed that he and his fellow European leaders would not “run scared.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, meanwhile, said Sunday that Russia's annexation of Crimea had set a “bad precedent.”
Englund reported from Moscow and Witte reported from London. Kathy Lally in Moscow contributed to this report.
