Ukraine alarmed as Putin puts Russian combat troops on high alert

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/26/documents-reveal-huge-government-assault-was-planned-to-cleanse-protesters-from-kiev/



Ukraine alarmed as Putin puts Russian combat troops on high alert
By Reuters
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 9:44 EST
By Alessandra Prentice and Richard Balmforth

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine/KIEV (Reuters) – - President Vladimir Putin put Russian combat troops on high alert for a drill on Wednesday, the Kremlin’s most powerful gesture yet after days of sabre rattling since its ally Viktor Yanukovich was toppled as president of Ukraine.

Thousands of ethnic Russians, who form the majority in Ukraine’s Crimea region, demonstrated for independence for the peninsula that hosts part of Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet. They scuffled with rival demonstrators, mainly from the Tatar minority, who support the new authorities in Kiev.

With the political turmoil hammering Ukraine’s economy, the hryvnia currency tumbled 4 percent on Wednesday, with ripples spreading to Russia where the rouble fell to five-year lows and bank shares took a hit.

Ukraine’s central bank, which has been rapidly burning its hard currency reserves to protect the hryvnia, said it has abandoned a managed exchange rate policy in favor of a flexible currency, a senior official told CNBC TV.