OutFront tonight – threat of a military storm.
According to Ukraine, Russia has issued an ultimatum – either surrender the Crimean peninsula or face attack. Russian state run media saying reports of an ultimatum are "utter rubbish."
The conflicting reports are just part of a day of fast-moving developments on the Crimean peninsula, located in the southern region of Ukraine.
Another fact that's in dispute: senior U.S. officials estimate Russia has moved as many as 6,000 troops to the region, but the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N. says that number is as high as 16,000.
President Obama says the U.S. is looking at ways to "isolate Russia" with economic and diplomatic penalties, calling Russia's actions a violation of international law.
According to U.S. officials, Russia has complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula, including border posts, ferry terminals, and all Ukrainian military facilities.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. says Russian jets have entered Ukrainian airspace and that Russia has blocked mobile telephone services in some areas. International anger at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was on full display today at a U.N. Security Council meeting.
But the pro-Russian leadership in Crimea is calling this a "Crimean Spring" where locals are finally able to choose which country they belong to.
This is all deja vu for Mikhail Saakashvili, who was president of the Republic of Georgia in 2008, when Vladimir Putin used military force to occupy the former Soviet province. That war lasted five days and left nearly 300 dead before ending in a cease fire.
The result of that invasion – Putin still has troops in two breakaway provinces in Georgia. President Saakashvili is OutFront tonight
soundoff (No Responses)