Ukrainian authorities say they repelled an attempted Russian military incursion into Ukraine, marking a dramatic escalation in the crisis in the region, says this Globe and Mail item.
Russian military helicopters reportedly attempted to land several dozen paratroopers in the Kherson area, north of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which Russian soldiers invaded in late February.
Ukrainian-language Espreso.tv reported that the incursion involved about 80 Russian soldiers supported by several armoured vehicles and military helicopters.
They reportedly seized natural gas facilities and a village in Kherson. Crimea is heavily reliant on infrastructure in Kherson for gas supplies, electricity and water.
Up to 50,000 at Moscow Anti-War March
The incident follows earlier reports of Russian soldiers and provocateurs attempting to enter Ukraine incognito in recent days.
Ukrainian defense official Andriy Parubiy has warned that Russia appears to be massing troops to mount a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands -- possibly as many as 50,000 -- marched today in Moscow to oppose their government's invasion of Crimea, BBC reports.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Ukraine Crisis: Surveys Suggest Most Crimeans Oppose Joining Russia
Two surveys suggest most Crimeans don't want to join Russia.
The autonomous Ukrainian region is poised to vote on the question Sunday in a referendum hastily organized after thousands of Russian soldiers invaded Crimea in recent weeks.
International observers won't be present to monitor. The G-7 nations say they won't recognize the vote, calling it "deeply flawed."
In the latest poll, only 19 percent of residents of Ukraine's south, including Crimea, said they want Crimea to join Russia.
This, according to a survey of 2,000 people conducted March 1 to 7 by Kyiv-based Rating Group.
Seventy-nine percent want Crimea to remain in Ukraine.
The two million Crimeans make up 30 percent of the Ukrainian southern region's 6.7 million people.
What portion of Crimeans themselves support joining Russia? The survey doesn't say.
But if we assume that non-Crimeans in this region favour Crimea joining Russia in the same portion as residents in Ukraine's heavily Russian-speaking Donbass region (where 8 percent favour the idea), then we can extrapolate that about 45 percent of Crimeans support joining Russia.
Less than a majority -- and far from an overwhelming portion.
Majority of Crimeans Oppose Joining Russia: Second Poll
Another recent poll showed similar results.
Forty-one percent of Crimeans said they favoured joining Russia in a February survey for the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
Support for joining Russia fell to 33 percent in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and to 15 percent in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine's largest city, while it was 12.5 percent nation-wide.
The autonomous Ukrainian region is poised to vote on the question Sunday in a referendum hastily organized after thousands of Russian soldiers invaded Crimea in recent weeks.
International observers won't be present to monitor. The G-7 nations say they won't recognize the vote, calling it "deeply flawed."
In the latest poll, only 19 percent of residents of Ukraine's south, including Crimea, said they want Crimea to join Russia.
This, according to a survey of 2,000 people conducted March 1 to 7 by Kyiv-based Rating Group.
Seventy-nine percent want Crimea to remain in Ukraine.
The two million Crimeans make up 30 percent of the Ukrainian southern region's 6.7 million people.
What portion of Crimeans themselves support joining Russia? The survey doesn't say.
But if we assume that non-Crimeans in this region favour Crimea joining Russia in the same portion as residents in Ukraine's heavily Russian-speaking Donbass region (where 8 percent favour the idea), then we can extrapolate that about 45 percent of Crimeans support joining Russia.
Less than a majority -- and far from an overwhelming portion.
Majority of Crimeans Oppose Joining Russia: Second Poll
Another recent poll showed similar results.
Forty-one percent of Crimeans said they favoured joining Russia in a February survey for the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
Support for joining Russia fell to 33 percent in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and to 15 percent in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine's largest city, while it was 12.5 percent nation-wide.
Ukraine Crisis: Referendum Ballots Already Marked to Join Russia
It's two days before Crimea's disputed referendum to quit Ukraine and join Russia.And some referendum ballots have already been filled out with a check-mark in support of joining Russia, reports Ukrainian-language Espreso.tv today.
It appears ballots were already filled in when sent out from the printer, the news site says.
UPDATE: A senior U.S. official said there was "concrete evidence" that some ballots in the referendum arrived pre-marked, this Reuters story later reported.
Plans to Falsify Vote
The photo originally appeared in an item on the widely read Russian-language UAInfo.org news site.
That story cited a source in the Crimean government who reported that authorities now in control of the region plan to falsify the referendum with fake ballots and voting by Russians.
The target is to achieve a 73-percent vote in favour of joining Russia, the source is quoted saying.
Busloads of Russians
On that score, Espreso.tv also reported busloads of Russian citizens have been arriving in Crimea, ostensibly to participate in Sunday's vote.
The referendum has been widely denounced by Ukraine and other nations as illegal.
It was announced after Russian-speaking soldiers without insignia took control over the Ukrainian region.
The troops oversaw the ousting of existing Crimean authorities and installment as prime minister of a little-known pro-Russia politician with alleged organized crime ties.
No international monitoring of the vote is planned.
Observers from the UN and Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe have been denied entry to Crimea or kicked out of the region by pro-Russia gunmen.
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