Posted on 02/28/2014 8:44:03 AM PST by kristinn
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine Several hundred troops in green camouflage, without insignia and carrying military-style automatic rifles, entered and secured areas of the civilian airport in Crimeas regional capital of Simferopol early Friday and deployed elsewhere, drawing protests from the new Ukrainian government against what it called a Russian invasion.
Video taken at the scene showed the troops patrolling inside the airport and standing guard outside. Flights continued to operate; no shots were fired.
SNIP
At the Belbek airport, armed men and a military transport truck blocked the entrance. Whoever the men were, they did not appear to be civilian militiamen, but trained soldiers.
When a man who appeared to be a Russian officer with two bodyguards approached them, they spread out in defensive positions, squatted and waited for orders.
Dozens of troop transport trucks were scattered along the highway between Sevastopol and Simferopol.
Seven Russian armored personnel carriers were spotted on the roadside outside Sevastopol showing Russian colors. One of the gunners said they were Russian Federation forces from the Krasnodar region in Russia, about 180 miles from Sochi.
The mysterious troops at the main airport in Simferopol slowly circulated at the arrival and departure concourses as international flights from Moscow and Istanbul continued as scheduled.
The soldiers refused to answer questions from reporters about who they are and what their mission is.
A dozen pro-Russian civilian self defense militiamen stood by, but not with, the soldiers.
In the Balaklava district near Sevastopol, at least 20 men wearing the uniform of Russias Black Sea Fleet and carrying automatic rifles surrounded a Ukrainian border guard post Friday, initiating a tense standoff with Ukrainian border police inside, Reuters news agency reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It has nothing to do with being personal.
They are taking over airfields and towns....those are not part of a a naval base.
Russia is not taking a ‘broad interpretation’, they are invading.
The more things change, the more they stay the same...
Exactly. Some people are trying to rationalize a takeover and invasion.
When foreign troops arrive un invited and unexpected, its an invasion.
Since no nation claims them, they basically have the same status as mercenaries, and therefore carpet bombing them all could not possibly provoke an international incident between two nations, right?
So all we need now is for our President to ....... to ..... umm .......
Oh never mind! I just remembered who's in the White House.
.... On another topic: Does anyone else wake up in the morning, and the first thing they think is: Wow! Was that ever a doozy of the nightmare. I dreamt that ever since January of 2009, our beloved nation ...... oh crap! It wasn't a dream after all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.