Ukraine crisis: Crimea airports occupied

Russian military forces are blockading Sevastopol airport in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, Ukraine's interior minister has said.

Arsen Avakov called their presence an "armed invasion".

Armed men also took over the other main Crimean airport, Simferopol, on Friday morning.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been strained since the ousting of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovych, who is now in Russia.

These tensions have been particularly evident in Crimea, Ukraine's only Russian-majority region.

The BBC's Bridget Kendall in Moscow says the Crimea is now becoming the lynchpin of a struggle between Ukraine's new leaders and those loyal to Russia.

On Thursday, pro-Russian armed men stormed the Simferopol parliament, ousted the existing cabinet and appointed a new prime minister.

Meanwhile, in a further challenge to Kiev, Mr Yanukovich is preparing to give a press conference on Friday, after resurfacing in Russia on Thursday, asserting that he is still Ukraine's lawful president.

A 'violation'

Armed men, said by Mr Avakov to be Russian soldiers, arrived in the Sevastopol military airport near Russia's Black Sea Fleet Base on Friday morning.

The men were patrolling outside, backed up by armoured vehicles, but Ukrainian military and border guards remained inside, Mr Avakov said.

"I consider what has happened to be an armed invasion and occupation in violation of all international agreements and norms," Mr Avakov said on his Facebook page.

Armed men also arrived at Simferopol airport overnight, some carrying Russian flags.

A man called Vladimir told Reuters he was a volunteer helping the group there, though he said he did not know where they came from.

"I'm with the People's Militia of Crimea. We're simple people, volunteers," he said.

"We're here at the airport to maintain order. We'll meet the planes with a nice smile - the airport is working as normal."

Referendum

On Thursday, a separate group of unidentified armed men entered Crimea's parliament building by force, and hoisted a Russian flag on the roof.

The Crimean parliament later announced it would hold a referendum on expanding the region's autonomy on 25 May.

Recent developments in the Crimea region - which traditionally leans towards Moscow - heightened tensions with Russia, which scrambled fighter jets to monitor its borders on Thursday.

Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, last night urged his government to maintain relations with Kiev and even join Western efforts to bail out its troubled economy - but he is also rewarding the rebellious Crimean government with humanitarian aid from Russia.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on all sides to "step back and avoid any kind of provocations".

The US has sought assurances from Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered snap military drills to test the combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia, near the border with Ukraine earlier in the week.

Mr Kerry said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who vowed to respect Ukraine's "territorial integrity".

Crimea - where ethnic Russians are in a majority - was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954.

Ethnic Ukrainians loyal to Kiev and Muslim Tatars - whose animus towards Russia stretches back to Stalin's deportations during World War Two - have formed an alliance to oppose any move back towards Moscow.

Russia, along with the US, UK and France, pledged to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine in a memorandum signed in 1994.


Credit: The BBC