Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chairman and interim President Oleksandr Turchynov is calling on the Russian Black Sea Fleet servicemen stationed in Crimea not to leave the boundaries of their base determined by the relevant Ukrainian-Russian agreements.
“I am addressing the Russian Black Sea Fleet command with a demand:
all military servicemen should stay within the boundaries of the
territories stipulated by the agreement. Any movement of military
servicemen with weapons outside this territory will be viewed as
military aggression,” Turchynov said while speaking at the Verkhovna
Rada on Feb. 27.
Turchynov also warned that “Ukrainian enemies should not try to
destabilize the situation, should not encroach on our independence,
sovereignty, and territory.”
He called for “immediately starting to form a government that would
be obliged to ensure security of Ukrainians and restore law and order.”
The Verkhovna Rada’s session on Feb. 27 will continue until a new government is confirmed, he said.
“Ukraine will be able to defend its independence, sovereignty, and the inviolability of its territory,” he said.
Turchynov announced also that he had issued instructions that all
possible measures be taken to protect people in Crimea and unblock the
buildings seized in Simferopol.
“All necessary measures must be taken to protect citizens, punish
those guilty of seizures in line with the law, and unblock the building.
I am calling on all Ukrainians to stay calm, and on patriots to defend
administrative buildings from instigators and extremists. Any attempts
to seize administrative buildings will be viewed as a crime against the
Ukrainian state,” Turchynov said at a plenary parliamentary session on Feb. 27.
