A step closer to all-out war: One Ukrainian officer shot dead, one militia killed and dozens rounded up by masked gunmen at under-siege Crimean army base as interim PM says crisis with Russia has moved from political to military

First bloodshed moves the escalating crisis one step closer to all out war

Ukrainian serviceman shot dead and local self-defence brigade member reported dead at base in Simferopol, Crimea, just hours after speech

Ukrainian officers arrested in the storming of the army base



Ukraine vows to go to war to protect Black Sea Peninsula

Ukraine unveils first 500 recruits to its newly-formed National Guard

The shooting comes after Putin signed a decree annexing Crimea

Britain halts all arms exports and joint military operations with Russia

Foreign Secretary William Hague warns coming of changing relationship

EU diplomat: 'We must find a solution to stop a return to the Cold War'

Ukraine strengthens its border defences as a result of the shooting

Locals worried about economic impact of a possible border closure

Annexation of Crimea took only 3 weeks, has been called a 'land grab'

Russia pushed out of G8 summit - now renamed G7

Ukraine suffers its first deaths in Crimea as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine hits a 'military stage'.

A Ukrainian serviceman and a member of a local self-defence brigade were shot dead, and many more were arrested in a Military base in Simferopol as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine escalates closer to all-out war.

News of the death of the militia member, who is said to be loyal to the Russian Federation came from the news service Interfax

The Ukrainian base was stormed by armed men at a military base in Simferopol in the Crimean Capital.

The men arrived in a truck bearing the Russian flag, and proceeded to storm the compound, firing shots and clearing the Ukrainian compound of its troops, arresting most of the soldiers, killing one, and injuring another.

Following the base attack, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has now warned that the conflict with Russia has escalated, saying: 'The conflict is shifting from a political to a military stage.

'Russian soldiers have started shooting at Ukrainian military servicemen, and that is a war crime.'

As a response, Ukrainian troops have been authorised to open fire in self defence after suffering their first casualty in the dramatic escalation to the now military crisis between the two countries.

After the attack Britain warned that the West and Russia faced a changed relationship in coming years, and London has suspended all bilateral military cooperation and halted arms exports to Russia.

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Armed Russian forces arrest Ukrainian army officers during an operation in Simferopol, after the crisis moves from from political to military action between the two countries, after one Ukrainian serviceman was shot dead on Tuesday

Armed Russian forces take part in a military operation at a Ukrainian military base in Simferopol, which led to the first act of bloodshed when a Ukrainian serviceman was shot dead

An armed man clears a roof of an Ukrainian military unit in the Ukrainian military base, thought to be a Russian soldier instigating an act of war on behalf of his country

Ukraine's interim president Oleksandr Turchnynov later issued a statement placing responsibility for 'the blood of Ukrainian soldiers on the leadership of the Russian Federation and specifically President Putin.'

Regional defence ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the soldier died after being shot in the neck when a group of gunmen stormed a Ukrainian military base in the northeast of Crimea's main city of Simferopol.

The men that stormed the Ukrainian compound did not have direct markings apart from the truck, but they were wearing the military uniforms of Russian Federation servicemen.'

Another soldier, part of the local Ukrainian self-defence brigade, was also shot, and died later, but there were no specifications as to whether the base was stormed by Russian soldiers or pro-Kremlin militia who also patrol the peninsula.

But the Ukrainian defence ministry said: 'For their self defence and protection of their lives, Ukrainian servicemen...deployed in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea are allowed to use arms.'

Ukrainian authorities have previously forbidden its Crimean soldiers from opening fire - in some cases forcing them to stand guard at their bases with empty rifles - in order not to provoke a Russian offensive that could spill into an all-out war.

Thefirst soldier who was shot dead, indicating the first bloodshed of the now military conflict, was identified as warrant officer S. V. Kakurin.

Reports have emerged that the incident may have occurred when when the a pro-Russian militia attempted to climb a wall in the Ukrainian compound, and was told to get back by Ukrainian forces.

Russian soldiers then intervened and shots were fired, with one soldier being shot in the neck, dying on the scene, and another being wounded.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, reflecting Western worries that Putin's encroachment could spread farther in Ukraine and beyond, said 'The Russian moves were in flagrant breach of international law and send a chilling message across the continent of Europe.

'President Putin should be in no doubt that Russia will face more serious consequences.'

NATO has also condemned the activity, saying they are heading down 'a dangerous path'.

Armed Russian forces take part in the military operation - causing the first bloodshed in the escalating conflict between the two countries

The arrests of the Ukrainian military officers is not the first act of aggression by Russia but it is one of the most direct Unidentified armed men search an area close to an Ukrainian military unit in Simferopol, after gunfire at the military facility in the capital of separatist Crimea killed one serviceman and a member of a local self-defense brigade

The shooting has caused Ukraine to strengthen their frontier defences in response to the seizure of Crimea, digging anti-tank trenches across a stretch of a highway that links Russia to Ukraine.

In addition, they put a stretch of anti-tank chicane of house high concrete blocks to strengthen the area, in a move that was to show the media they are ready for an attack.

Sergeant Olesky Romanenko, a soldier on the border, said: 'We are ready to defend out country.'

While there was no sign of large unit armed activity in the region, a few military trucks and armoured vehicles were seen moving around in the area.

Border guards are instead more concerned about what Kiev calls 'Kremlin agents' from Russia to spread dissent and spark violent street clashes in the Russian-speaking cities of Donetsk and Khariv.

Ukraine says these agent's goals are to 'turn local people against the leaders in Kiev', in order to justify Moscow moving to 'protect' ethnic Russians, as in Crimea.

Many civilians are worried about the border for more economic reasons, with one businessman, Sergei Alexandrovich, from Rostov, saying 'We've got very good economic relations.

'It would be very bad for business if the border closes.'

Another said: 'This is a tense situation.

'It's all a political game in which ordinary people are suffering.'

Many unmarked soldiers stormed the Ukrainian compound inside Crimea, but experts have said while they did not bear markings, they were identified as wearing military uniforms that are worn by the servicemen of the Russian Federation

The truck used in the storming of the Ukrainian compound bore Russian markings, which has led the Ukrainian defence ministry to believe the attackers were Russian

Armed members of the Russian forces wait outside as Ukrainian soldiers stand guard inside the Ukrainian Navy headquarters in Simferopol. Previously the Ukrainian forces had been told not to fire at advancing Russian forces, but have now been given the go-ahead for armed self-defence

Most of the Russian's offensive has bee blockades, as have they slowly but surely block off the vital Ukrainian military forces that would be needed to wage a war

The dispute between the two countries has been largely cold, with posturing on both sides and no active combat, and the death of the Ukrainian soldier today may be the catalyst that pushes the escalating crisis to war

Ukraine said one of its soldiers was killed in Crimea today in the first case of bloodshed since Russian troops and pro-Kremlin militia seized the rebel peninsula almost three weeks ago The highly armed Russian forces have been taking part in military operations all over Ukrainian territory, even before Putin ordered the annexing of Crimea, but this incidence is the first of shots being fired and striking a living target

There has been no immediate reaction to the reported death from either Russian authorities in Moscow or the peninsula's rebel leadership.

Vladimir Putin signed a decree to add Crimea to the Russian map today as the Ukrainian army officer was shot dead in the region.

With Ukraine vowing it will fight to protect the Black Sea peninsula, the incident will spark fears the two countries are edging ever closer to war.

But since Putin signed the degree, workers have already started dismantling the autonomous Crimean government, despite many powerful international figures claiming they do not recognise the annexing which came into affect as a product of the signing.

Workers started with the signs on the building of Crimean Parliament building, taking down the gold-coloured metal letters that indicated the building's status, and the country's status, as independent.

Since the decree was signed, workers have begun dismantling the autonomous government of Crimea, starting with the signs

Workmen change the lettering on the Parliament building to a sign that reads 'Crimean Autonomous Council', only days after the vote and mere hours after the annexing of Crimea

The dismantled Crimean Parliament signs. President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Crimea signed a treaty accepting the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as part of the Russian territory

WORLDWIDE REACTION TO THE ANNEXING OF CRIMEA UNITED STATES White House spokesman Jay Carney- 'We condemn Russia's moves to formally annex' Crimea. 'With sanctions already designated against Russian officials, there are more to come.' US President Barack Obama, who then called on members of the G7 - minus G8 member Russia - to join him in The Hague to discuss the crisis next week - 'The Crimean 'referendum,' which violates the Ukrainian constitution and occurred under duress of Russian military intervention, (will) never be recognised by the United States and the international community.' US Vice President Joe Biden - 'Russia has offered a variety of arguments to justify what is nothing more than a land grab.' BRITAIN British Foreign Secretary William Hague, announcing that Britain will suspend all bilateral military cooperation with Russia - 'It was regrettable to hear President Putin today choosing the route of isolation' - GERMANY German Chancellor Angela Merkel - 'The one-sided declaration of Crimea's independence and the absorption into the Russian Federation that started today are unacceptable blows against the territorial integrity of Ukraine. 'The so-called referendum breached international law, the declaration of independence which the Russian president accepted yesterday was against international law, and the absorption into the Russian Federation is, in our firm opinion, also against international law.' EUROPEAN UNION EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel - 'The European Union does neither recognise the illegal and illegitimate referendum in Crimea nor its outcome. 'The European Union does not and will not recognise the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.' UKRAINE Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov - 'Russia is playing a dirty game to annex Crimea. World War II began with the annexation by Nazi Germany of other countries' territories. Today, Putin is following the example of 20th century fascists.' FRANCE French President Francois Hollande - 'France does not recognise the results of the referendum held in Crimea on March 16, or the annexation of this region of Ukraine to Russia.' Advertisement

Another demonstrator in Sevastopol holds the hammer and sickle in the same hand as the flag of the Russian Federation as crowds celebrate their decision to secede from Ukraine following the Western-backed coup

Tsar Vladimir: Thousands of pro-Russian people watch Putin's speech on big screens in Sevastopol

The incident came after Vladmir Putin gave a firebrand speech that both encouraged his country to recapture old former-Soviet territories, and warned the West not to get in the way or interfere.

Russian politicians and media were last night demanding Putin go further, grabbing back more former Soviet regions and states.

The nationalistic frenzy whipped up by the return of Crimea - in defiance of the West - led to calls on state-run TV for Moscow to take back oil and gas-rich Kazakhstan and authoritarian Belarus as well as more slices of a battered Ukraine, already filleted by the Kremlin.

Putin was last night riding the crest of an adulatory wave after righting what many Russians see as an historical wrong and reintegrating Crimea and the Black Sea fleet headquarters of Sevastopol back in to Russia after a gap of 60 years.

Putin told the joint session of the Russian parliament that he would not accept NATO 'next to our home or on our historic territories'.

He also accused the West of hypocrisy in pushing for self-determination for Kosovo but denying Crimea, he said the peninsula had been 'robbed' from Russia in Soviet times while 'regions of Russia's historic south' were only now Ukrainian because of a Bolshevik blunder.

In an emotional and historic address he said: 'In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.'

CRIMEA: A RUSSIAN STATE ONCE MORE PUTIN'S DECLARATIONS 'In people's hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia,' Putin declared in his emotional speech, dismissing Western criticism of Sunday. Putin said his actions followed what he described as Western arrogance, hypocrisy and pressure, and warned that the West must drop its stubborn refusal to take Russian concerns into account. Addressing the West, Putin said: 'If you push a spring too hard at some point it will spring back. 'You always need to remember this.' While Putin boasted that the Russian takeover of Crimea was conducted without a single shot, a Ukrainian military spokesman argued that the Ukrainian serviceman who was killed when the military facility in Crimea was stormed just hours after Putin's speech indicated Putin, and Russia, had officially committed a war crime. 'We don't want a division of Ukraine, we don't need that.' Regarding the West again, Putin said: 'They have constantly tried to drive us into a corner for our independent stance," Putin said. "But there are limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed a line. 'They have behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.' Putin said that the Soviet collapse made Russians 'the largest divided people in the world. 'I have heard residents of Crimea say that back in 1991 they were handed over like a sack of potatoes. 'What about Russia? It lowered its head and accepted the situation, swallowing the insult. Our country was going through such hard times then that it simply was incapable of defending its interests.' HISTORY OF CRIMEA Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954, a mere formality until the 1991 Soviet breakup. Both Russians and Crimea's majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult. Putin argued that today's Ukraine included 'regions of Russia's historic south' and was created on a whim by the Bolsheviks. But despite the massing of thousands of Russian troops on Ukraine's eastern border, Putin insisted his nation had no intention of invading other regions in Ukraine. Advertisement

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary William Hague said President Vladimir Putin had chosen the 'route of isolation' by signing a treaty annexing Crimea just two days after a hastily arranged referendum on the breakaway peninsula.

He said: 'We should be ready to contemplate a new state of relations between Russia and the West in the coming years that is different from the last 20 years.

'This is a relationship that would be one in which institutions such as G8 are working without Russia, and military cooperation and defence exports are permanently curtailed, in which decisions are accelerated to reduce European dependence on Russian energy exports.

'We have suspended all such military cooperation.'

Britain was also suspending all existing licences for the export of arms to Russia, because it fears the equipment could be used by Russian forces against Ukraine.

Hague said Britain encouraged other EU states to take similar action.

Hague said Britain was scaling back military ties with Russia, which were only recently revived after relations between the two countries were almost halted by the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

The EU has also been hindered by Russian activity, with Herman Van Rompuy cancelling a confidential meeting that was meant to take place between him and Russia.

'The mission was cancelled because the Russians made it public,' a diplomat said.

Another diplomat added: 'We must find a solution as quickly as possible to stop a return to the Cold War.'

Sanctions against Russia instituted by the U.S. have been condemned by John Kerry's Russian counterpart Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that Western sanctions against Moscow over Crimea were 'absolutely unacceptable', and said there would be consequences.

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Putin: Crimea will be part of Russia

On the crest of a wave: Russian President Vladimir Putin stands next to Crimean Premier Sergey Aksionov as he addresses a rally in Red Square, Moscow, celebrating Crimea's decision to join with Russia

Ukrainian soldiers guard a gate of an infantry base in Privolnoye, Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty for Crimea to join Russia Many Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea have been under the control of Russian forces for several weeks after Russian troops poured into the Black Sea peninsula ahead of a referendum at the weekend which handed over control from Ukraine to Russia.

Yatseniuk said he had ordered Ukraine's defence minister to call a meeting with his counterparts from Britain, France, and Russia - signatories to a 1994 treaty guaranteeing Ukraine's borders to 'prevent an escalation of the conflict'. Mr Putin defiantly added Crimea to the map of Russia despite protests among the international community. In the emotional 40-minute speech televised live from the Kremlin, Mr Putin claimed the move corrected past injustice and responded to what he called Western encroachment his country's vital interests. A Russian girl holds a Russian national flag during rally celebrating Crimea and Sevastopol joining Russia on Red Square Russians hold flags showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the slogan reading 'We are together!' People attend a rally called 'We are together' to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia at the Red Square in central Moscow An elderly woman holds a calendar depicting Soviet leader Josef Stalin while watching a large screen showing a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech He said Crimea had remained 'in people's hearts and minds, and has always been an integral part of Russia.' Mr Putin dismissed Western criticism of Sunday's Crimean referendum - in which residents of the strategic Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed breaking off from Ukraine and joining Russia - as a manifestation of the West's double standards. Mr Putin said the move followed what he described as Western pressure, arrogance and its stubborn refusal to take Russian concerns into account. THE FRIGHTENING SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PUTIN'S AND HITLER'S SPEECHES VLADMIR PUTIN Putin claimed he would not invade other parts of Eastern Ukraine if Russia is allowed to exercise influence. Putin said: ‘Don’t believe those who try to frighten you with Russia and who scream that other (Ukrainian) regions will follow after Crimea. ‘We do not want a partition of Ukraine, we do not need this.’ ADOLF HITLER Hitler also claimed that his ambitions would stop at the Sudetenland. ‘What more is wanted? I have declared that the frontier between France and Germany is a final one. Germany has no interests in the West, and our western wall is for all time the frontier of the Reich on the west. ‘Moreover, we have no aims of any kind there for the future.’ Five months later he invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, 19 months later he invaded France. Vladmir Putin's speech bore remarkable similarities to the words spoken during Adolf Hitler's speech where he spoke about the Nazi seizure of the Sudetenland Advertisement Russian President Vladimir Putin (second right), Crimea's Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov (front left), Crimean parliamentary speaker Vladimir Konstantinov (back left) and Sevastopol Mayor Alexei Chaliy shake hands after a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow 'If you push a spring too hard at some point it will spring back,' he said, addressing the West. 'You always need to remember this.' But the Russian leader insisted his nation has no intention of invading other regions of Ukraine. 'We don't want a division of Ukraine, we don't need that,' he said. He also accused the United States of being guided in its foreign policy not by international law but by the 'rule of the gun.' Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, stand guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye in Crimea President Vladimir Putin pushed every emotional button of the collective Russian psyche as he justified the incorporation of Crimea, citing everything from ancient history to Russia's demand for respect to Western double standards A Ukrainian interim forces officer (right) talks to recruits during their exercises not far from Kiev THE ODD MAN OUT: RUSSIA IN THE G8 GROUP OF WORLD POWERS What is the G8? The G8, otherwise known as the Group of Eight, is an assembly of world leaders who meet annually to discuss global issues. Each year, the G8 holds a Leaders’ Summit, in which Heads of State and Government of member countries meet to discuss and attempt to reconcile global issues. What countries are members? The G-8 includes the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada. Russia joined to form the G-8 in the 1990s, but has been a bit of an odd man out at their annual meetings. Is the G8 important? Yes, but the G-8 has been eclipsed in recent years by the G-20, which includes China and emerging markets and was created to better represent the drivers of the 21st century global economy. When did it last meet? Leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, USA and UK met at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland for the G8 Summit in June 2013. When will it next meet? Russia has the G-8's rotating leadership and is scheduled to host a summit in Sochi in June, but the other members already had suspended preparations for that meeting over objections to Russia's involvement in Ukraine. Advertisement Ukraine's parliament has approved the partial mobilisation of troops to counter 'Russian interference' on its soil A Ukrainian interim forces officer (left) supervises recruits during a shooting exercise Members of Ukrainian self-defense forces march during their training on the Novi Petrivtsi shooting range near Kiev At the same time, Mr Putin also argued that today's Ukraine included 'regions of Russia's historic south' and was created on a whim by the Bolsheviks - a clear warning to both the new Ukrainian government in Kiev and to the West to respect Russia's interests. In response, Ukraine's new government called Mr Putin a threat to the whole world and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. and Europe will impose further sanctions against Moscow. 'The world has seen through Russia's actions and has rejected the flawed logic,' Biden said, meeting Tuesday with anxious European leaders in Poland. British Foreign Secretary William Hague makes a statement to the House of Commons as MPs debate the ongoing situation in Ukraine

SHOTS FIRED AND UKRAINIAN AIR COMMANDER TAKEN IN CRIMEA Armed men came to a Ukrainian military airfield in the Crimean peninsula, fired shots in the air and took away the base's commanding officer, a military spokesman said. The incident happened late on Monday at Belbek airport just outside the naval port of Sevastopol. 'Unknown armed people came to the base late on Monday, shots were fired in the air and the commanding officer was taken away in an unknown direction,' Vladislav Seleznov, a Ukrainian military spokesman said. In a separate incident on Tuesday, a group of about 30 members of the so-called 'Crimean Self-Defense' came to a compound of apartment blocks that houses families of Ukrainian servicemen and took its commander away, Seleznov said. 'They were there about 30 minutes ... They took away the commander of the compound, Lt. Colonel Vladislav Nechiporenko, in a yellow mini-van,' he said. The two incidents could not be independently verified. Seleznov could not say whether the incidents amounted to a violation of last week's truce in Crimea reached between the defence ministries of Ukraine and Russia that is scheduled to last until March 21.

'Today's statement by Mr Putin showed in high relief what a real threat Russia is for the civilized world and international security,' Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Evhen Perebinis said on Twitter. Advertisement

'(The annexation) has nothing to do with law or with democracy or sensible thinking.'

Thousands of Russian troops have been massed along Ukraine's eastern border for the last few weeks - Russia says that was for military training while the U.S. and Europe view the troops as an intimidation tactic.

'If Ukraine goes to NATO or the EU, Mr Putin will do everything so that it goes there without the east and south,' said Vadim Karasyov, a Kiev-based political analyst.

'Mr Putin basically told the West that Russia has the right to veto the way Ukraine will develop. And if not, then Crimea is only a precedent of how pieces of Ukraine can be chopped off one by one.'

Mr Putin argued the months of protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev that prompted President Viktor Yanukovych to flee to Russia had been instigated by the West in order to weaken Russia.

He cast the new Ukrainian government as illegitimate, driven by radical 'nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites.'

With strong emotion, Mr Putin accused the West of cheating Russia and ignoring its interests in the years that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse.

'They have constantly tried to drive us into a corner for our independent stance, for defending it, for calling things their proper names and not being hypocritical,' Mr Putin said.

'But there are limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed a line. They behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.'

Following the speech before lawmakers and top officials, Mr Putin and Crimean officials signed a treaty for the region to join Russia.

The treaty will have to be endorsed by Russia's Constitutional Court and ratified by both houses of parliament, but Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of upper house of Russian parliament, said the procedure could be completed by the end of the week.

Ukrainian interim forces officer new recruits learn techniques of unarmed combat

Kiev had called last week for the initial mobilisation of reservists and approved the creation of a new National Guard of 60,000 volunteers, as Russian forces encircled Ukrainian military bases in Crimea

New recruits: The nation has only some 6,000 combat-ready soldiers

Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and Crimea's majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult.

In his speech at the Kremlin's white-and-gold St. George hall, which was often interrupted by applause, Mr Putin said the rights of ethnic Russians in Ukraine had been abused by the new Ukrainian government. He insisted that Crimea's vote Sunday to join Russia was in line with international law and reflected its right for self-determination.

To back that claim, Mr Putin pointed to Kosovo's independence bid from Serbia - supported by the West and opposed by Russia - and said Crimea's secession from Ukraine repeats Ukraine's own secession from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Signage from the #Simferopol provincial parliament being jimmied off the entrance. Just another day in #crimea pic.twitter.com/pJDYp91pKu — Ed Flanagan (@edmundflanagan) March 18, 2014

He denied Western accusations that Russia invaded Crimea prior to the referendum, saying Russian troops were sent there in line with a treaty with Ukraine that allows Russia to have up to 25,000 troops at its Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea.

The hastily called Crimean vote was held just two weeks after Russian troops had overtaken the Black Sea peninsula, blockading Ukrainian soldiers at their bases.

The West and Ukraine described the referendum as illegitimate and being held at gunpoint, but residents on the peninsula voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.

THE KOSOVO WAR : FEBRUARY 1998 TO JUNE 1999 Kosovo is the disputed land which lies on the border of Serbia and Albania. War broke out there in February 1998 when forces under Yugoslav President Solbodan Milosevic tried to suppress an campaign for independence by the ethnic Albanians in the country. Fighting continued in the region until June 1999. A deal to end the crisis - negotiated by the international community in 1999 - was rejected by Milosevic. His continued persecution of the Albanians prompted NATO to intervene, launching air strikes against targets in Kosovo and Serbia in March of that year. At the same time a campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Kosovo Albanians began. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled across the border to Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. After 11 weeks of Nato bombings, Milosevic was forced to withdraw his troops. The UN was put in charge, until agreement could be reached on whether Kosovo would become indepdent or revert to Serbian control. In May 1999 Milosevic became the first serving head of state to be indicted for crimes against humanity, by the international war crimes tribunal at The Hague. Advertisement Speaking in Donetsk, the center of the Donbass coal-mining region in eastern Ukraine, 37-year-old businessman Aleksei Gavrilov hailed Crimea joining Russia and said Donbass also historically belonged to Russia. 'Ukraine is just a made-up , fake project which was created to destroy Russia,' he said. 'Everything that Mr Putin said is perfectly correct and I support him completely!' Igor Nosenko, a bar manager, watched Mr Putin's speech in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

'It seems that I am in some kind of surrealist world when a person is saying that white is black,' he said. 'In fact, it can be very dangerous, it can be dangerous for the whole world since it is absolutely unclear what this person (Mr Putin) has in his head.' The United States and the European Union on Monday announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis. President Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia didn't stop interfering in Ukraine. Earlier in the day, France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Europe-1 radio leaders of the Group of Eight world powers 'decided to suspend Russia's participation.' In his speech, Mr Putin made it clear that Russia wouldn't be deterred by Western sanctions, and asked China and India for their support. The Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution condemning U.S. sanctions targeting Russian officials including members of the chamber. The chamber challenged Obama to extend the sanctions to all the 353 deputies who voted for Tuesday's resolution, suggesting that being targeted was a badge of honor. Eighty-eight deputies left the house before the vote. Mr Putin found support even in unusual places. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Crimea's vote to join Russia as a 'happy event.' In remarks Tuesday by online newspaper Slon.ru, he said Crimea's vote could also be an example for people in Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern region. The first volunteers enroll in the Ukraine National Guard in Kiev (left) and (right) pro-Ukrainian activists demonstrate during the European foreign affairs ministers council, near EU headquarters in Brussels A man holding a Soviet era red flag salutes in front of the parliament building after the end of the referendum in Simferopol, Crimea Many in Crimea's ethnic Tatar minority were wary of the referendum, fearing that Crimea's break-off from Ukraine will set off violence against them. Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev seemed to confirm those fears, saying in remarks carried by the RIA Novosti news agency that the government would ask Tatars to 'vacate' some of the lands they 'illegally' occupy so authorities can use them for 'social needs.' But Mr Putin on Tuesday vowed to protect the rights of Crimean Tatars and keep their language as one of Crimea's official tongues, along with Russian and Ukrainian. Meanwhile, the White House said the G7 world economic powers need to consider whether Moscow should keep its membership in their organisation. Mr Obama wants to gather leaders of the G7 nations and the European Union to meet on the sidelines of a nuclear summit next week in the Netherlands. Russia is one of 53 countries which will participate in the nuclear meeting in The Hague. In a statement, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the meeting that Obama 'will focus on the situation in Ukraine and further steps that the G-7 may take to respond to developments and to support Ukraine.' U.S. Vice President Joe Biden waves as he arrives at the Okecie military airport in Warsaw, Poland Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet President, has praised Mr Putin's stance over the Crimea It comes as the leaders of the G8 world powers said today they have suspended Russia's participation in the club amid the tensions, France's foreign minister said today. The other seven members of the group had already suspended preparations for a G8 summit that Russia is scheduled to host in Sochi in June. France's Laurent Fabius went further today, saying on Europe-1 radio that 'concerning the G8... we decided to suspend Russia's participation, and it is envisaged that all the other countries, the seven leading countries, will unite without Russia'. Also today, Serhiy Taruta, governor of the eastern city of Donetsk, warned: 'We're going to have a war. Our people will take up arms and they will protect our country. 'A short distance away, thousands of Russian troops have been carrying out manoeuvres for the past few days. 'If they decide to come into Ukraine, this is the way they'll come - and there's nothing anyone can do to stop them.'

Ukrainian border guards patrol the road on the administrative border of Crimea and Ukraine not far the village of Strilkove in the Kherson region

Ukrainian border guards search a truck at a check point on the administrative border of Crimea and Ukraine Today, Ukraine unveiled the first 500 recruits to its newly-formed National Guard and paraded them on Kiev's Independence Square. Ukraine's military is trying to raise a force of 40,000. The nation has only some 6,000 combat-ready soldiers, but parliament on March 17 approved $670million (£400million) in emergency funding. On Sunday, Crimea voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and seek to join Russia. The West and Ukraine described the referendum, which was announced two weeks ago, as illegitimate.

UKRAINE 'WON'T SEEK MEMBERSHIP OF NATO', NEW LEADERS SAYS U kraine's new pro-Western leadership is not seeking membership of NATO, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said today. Yatseniuk, who came to office after the removal of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich, also said decentralisation of power was a key plank of government policy, adding Kiev's efforts to integrate with Europe would take into account the interests of Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking industrial east. 'Strictly with a view to maintaining Ukraine's unity, the question of joining NATO is not on the agenda,' Yatseniuk, who normally speaks in Ukrainian, said in a 10-minute televised appeal delivered in Russian. 'The country will be defended by a strong, modern Ukrainian army.' Kiev pursued a policy of closer ties with the U.S.-led NATO alliance before Yanukovich took power in 2010. Yanukovich then formally scrapped the idea of Ukraine's eventual membership of NATO, declaring 'non-bloc' neutrality for his nation of 46 million sandwiched between Russia and the European Union. Advertisement

Yesterday, the United States and the European Union announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis.

President Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia did not stop interfering in Ukraine. Russian troops have been occupying the region for more than two weeks.

But the chief executive of Russian oil giant Rosneft and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin spoken out defiantly on the sanctions, threatening to move business elsewhere.

Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil company, told Russian news agencies today that he is not afraid of potential sanctions, calling them 'evidence of powerlessness'.

Rosneft and Russian companies should not fear sanctions either, Mr Sechin insisted, saying 'Russian companies can move their business elsewhere' away from the US and Europe.Russia is a major oil supplier for Europe.

Malcolm Rifkind, who chairs the British parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, told the BBC the sanctions were 'pathetic'.

He said: 'All that the international community has done so far is implement visa sanctions and asset freezes on 22 or 23 individuals - that is a pathetic response.'

Mr Rifkind, a senior lawmaker in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party, said the United States and European Union should get tougher with Putin, preferably with 'very robust financial sanctions'.

'Now it may be that as a result of what might happen that there will be a much tougher response including financial sanctions. If so that will be the right response,' he said.

'But I hear very disturbing signs that it is unlikely there will be European consensus on that: that we might say 'well only if Russia invades eastern Ukraine will it be necessary to go further'. That would be a shameful and very dangerous response.'

Russia, however, still has a chance to back off. The treaty to annex Crimea has to be signed by leaders of Russia and Crimea, approved by the Constitutional Court and then be ratified by the parliament.

Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954.

Both Russians and Crimea's majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult.

He added that the Crimean poll has set an example for people in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, who should also decide their fate.

Mr Gorbachev, 83, who resigned as the Soviet president on Christmas Day 1991, has voiced regret that he was unable to stem the Soviet Union's collapse.

He has criticised Mr Putin's authoritarian policy, but said today that he supports his course in the Ukrainian crisis.

Ukraine's turmoil, which began in November with a wave of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych and accelerated after he fled to Russia in late February, has become Europe's most severe security crisis in years.

Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers have responded caustically to Western sanctions against officials involved in moves to annex Crimea, urging the United States and European Union to impose the same penalties on hundreds more members of parliament.

A declaration adopted unanimously by the State Duma lower house said: 'We propose to Mr Obama and the ... Eurobureaucrats to include all State Duma deputies who voted in favour of this resolution on the list of Russian citizens affected by U.S. and EU sanctions.'

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Poland on a trip designed to show America's resolve against Russia's intervention in neighbouring Ukraine.

He landed in Warsaw, where he planned to have talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Bronislaw Komorowski. He will also meet Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

The meetings with the Nato allies are part of a broader US campaign to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to back off in Ukraine. The US is imposing the most comprehensive sanctions against Russian officials since the Cold War.

Later today, Mr Biden will fly to the Baltic nation of Lithuania to meet President Dalia Grybauskaite and Latvian President Andris Berzins.

Latvia and Estonia share borders with Russia, and Poland and Lithuania are nearby.