On the Scene: VOA's Elizabeth Arrott in Simferopol
SIMFEROPOL, CRIMEA, UKRAINE —
SIMFEROPOL, CRIMEA, UKRAINE — The international war of words over developments in Ukraine overshadowed physical confrontations on the ground Monday.VOA's Elizabeth Arrott is in Simferopol, capital of Ukraine's contested Crimean Peninsula, where locals are reacting to the Russian military presence.
Across Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, soldiers without insignia are now a common sight. Widely believed to be Russian forces, there is tension around Prevolnoye military base, where Ukrainian soldiers have hunkered down while Russian flags fly nearby.
"I am far from thinking that there will be an attack or a war,” said a hopeful Valery Boiko, a representative for the Prevolnoye military base commander. “Nobody needs this, you or we, nobody from Ukrainian citizens to those serving in the army. I hope that the politicians will come to an agreement at their level."
However both Kyiv and the West, concerned about Moscow's decision to authorize military intervention in the name of protecting ethnic Russians, called for them to withdraw.
March 3, 2014
1/10A Ukrainian soldier stands behind a fence while unidentified armed men block the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol.
2/10An unidentified man braves the elements to run on the National Mall as snow falls in Washington, prompting area schools and the U.S. federal government to close.
3/10Gold and silver bars and coins are stacked on a table in the safe deposit boxes room of the ProAurum gold house in Munich, Germany. The threat of war between Ukraine and Russia sent investors scurrying for relative safety Monday.
4/10Actress Lupita Nyong'o celebrates winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role award for '12 Years a Slave' in the press room during the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, March 2, 2014.
5/10Members of the African National Congress Women's League sing in front of the courthouse ahead of the trial of Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria.
6/10Attendants serve tea before the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
7/10Protesters picket the Chinese Consulate at the financial district of Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines, to protest the recent use of water cannons by Chinese coast guard to drive away Filipino fishermen off the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
8/10Thai Muslim villagers prepare birds and cages for a bird-singing contest in Yala province in southern Thailand, March 2, 2014.
9/10Justin Savidis dogs await lineup in the musher lot before the official restart of the Iditarod dog sled race in Willow, Alaska, March 2, 2014.
10/10A dog dressed up in a panda outfit takes part in an exhibition called "Pandas on Tour" in front of the Taipei City Hall on March 2, 2014.
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British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Kyiv Monday, where a pro-Western uprising led to the ouster of Moscow ally President Viktor Yanukovych last month. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives Tuesday to show Washington's support for the new government.
Earlier, prompted by fears that Russia could move into eastern Ukraine, Kyiv ordered a full military mobilization.
Some among Crimea's pro-Moscow ethnic Russian majority are preparing for trouble, forming volunteer self-defense units. But any formal attack seemed unlikely, as Ukraine would be up against the far mightier Russian army.
"Our role is to protect the city, to prevent provocations, and provide order so that Crimean people can live peacefully and calmly," said Sergey Nikolayovich Stanyuk of the Crimean Civil Self-Defense.
Despite tensions, much of Crimea was calm. The mood was celebratory around parliament, over which now flies the Russian flag.
Some of the irregulars provided a mixed message, showing a fondness for Europe in their clothing, while wearing pro-Russian bands on their sleeves.
But concern remains about what intervention means for the future, and the fault lines that are forming.
“Crimea is multinational,” said Soviet-era Navy Captain Valentin Mihailovich. “I don’t really like what’s going on, but it was necessary for protection because of all those Banderas [nationalist partisans] in Kyiv. Western Ukraine is opposed to Eastern and Southern Ukraine."
That vision of the government in Kyiv as having been brought to power by fascists and thugs - an idea reinforced by Russian media - threatens to make the fault lines wider.
