Crimean Forces Seize Ukraine Navy HQ

Pro-Russian forces reportedly holding Ukrainian navy chief
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 19, 2014 5:11 AM CDT
Updated Mar 19, 2014 6:03 AM CDT
Crimean Forces Seize Ukraine Navy HQ
An armed man clears a roof of an Ukrainian military unit in Simferopol, Crimea yesterday.   (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Crimea's self-defense forces stormed the Ukrainian navy headquarters in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol today, taking possession without resistance a day after Russia signed a treaty with local authorities to annex the region. An AP photographer witnessed several hundred self-defense forces take down the gate and make their way onto the headquarters' premises, where they then raised the Russian flag. Ukraine's navy chief has reportedly been detained, notes the BBC, and although Kiev authorized its military in Crimea to use force after an officer was killed by gunmen yesterday, Ukrainian servicemen did not offer any resistance and were seen packing up to leave the base. (More Crimea stories.)

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