Pro-Russian Rally In Crimea Decries Kiev 'Bandits'

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) -- Dozens of pro-Russian protesters rallied Tuesday in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea against "the bandits" in Kiev who are trying to form a new government - with some even speaking of secession. A lawmaker from Russia stoked their passions further by promising them that Russia will protect them.

As a Russian flag flew Tuesday in front of the city council building in Sevastopol - a key Crimean port where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based - an armored Russian personnel carrier and two trucks full of troops made a rare appearance on the streets of the city.

The Crimean Peninsula - a pro-Russian region about the size of Massachusetts or Belgium - is a tinder pot in the making.

Protesters had torn down the Ukrainian flag a day ago, pleading with Moscow to protect them from the new authorities in Ukraine who have forced President Viktor Yanukovych to flee Kiev, the capital, and go into hiding.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_UKRAINE_PROTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-02-25-16-52-35

[tabasco]

1. Dozens?

I hope they had plenty of portapotties.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Cuban revolution started with 15

who managed to reach Santiago de Cuba on the Granma and that's a fact.

[another_liberal]

4. The armoured personnel carrier and trucks full of Russian troops are also no joke.

Not to mention the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

[tabasco]

8. Right on, Che!

Which has fuck-all to do with pro-Russian fuckers in Crimea.

[frazzled]

2. Oh heavens, not this again

Eleanor Antin, The Angel of Mercy, 1977. In the Trenched of Sebastopol from My Tour of Duty in the Crimea. One of 38 tinted gelatin-silver prints, mounted on handmade paper with text, 30 x 22 inches.

[another_liberal]

5. Photo of the demonstration shows more than "A few dozen."

This is a good article from the Guardian on events in Sevastopol:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/25/ukraine-separatism-threat-crimea-russia-naval-port

[another_liberal]

6. More US Marine guards are being sent to our Embassay in Kiev.

As reported in an RT News update tonight:

21:02 GMT:

Additional members of the Marine Corps’ new Security Augmentation Unit have been deployed for extra security measures at the US Embassy in Ukraine

“We have slightly augmented our existing Marine Security Guard force at the Embassy in Kyiv,” Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman said Tuesday.

An official with the department told NBC news that nine Marines have been deployed to Kiev.

[EmilyAnne]

9. Nine marines? Seriously? Nine? nt

[another_liberal]

10. That is what the State Department Spokeswoman said.

I guess they only wanted to send enough to enhance security (remember Benghazi?) but not so many as to cause a stir in the press or on the streets of Kiev.

I would also not underestimate what nine Marines can do, just a handful of those guys could account for many, many street thugs and brick throwers.

[okaawhatever]

7. Crimea is an autonomous Republic within Ukraine. They have their own Constitution. If they're

protesting it's very likely being encouraged by Putin. One of the controversial measures was Yanukovych extending the lease to Russia for it's Black Sea Fleet. Something he did a couple of months into his Presidency even though the lease was good for another 7 years. Yanukovych had said during the elections he would let the public decide, even the possibility of a referendum. Like many other things, Yanukovych did it without consultation or warning.

From an article in The Guardian 2010

The deal is the most concrete sign yet that Ukraine is now back under Russia's influence following Yanukovych's victory in February's presidential elections. It appears to mark the final nail in the coffin of the Orange Revolution of 2004

Yanukovych's predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, had vowed to eject Russia's Black Sea fleet from the port of Sevastopol, arguing that its presence was an affront to Ukraine's sovereignty and a destabilising factor in Crimea, a majority ethnic Russian region with a strong pro-Soviet mood.

Today, Ukrainian officials insisted Ukraine still plans to join the EU, and to integrate with transatlantic institutions. "We want to move towards the west. But the best way of doing this is to get gas from the east," a foreign ministry spokesman said. "The Black Sea fleet isn't any threat to Ukraine's independence.