Russian Forces Release Ukraine Naval Commander, Reports Say

[Omaha Steve]

Source: NYT

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN, ANDREW E. KRAMER and ALAN COWELL

SEVASTOPOL, Crimea — Russian forces and their Crimean militia allies were reported on Thursday to have released the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, seized in his own headquarters here as Moscow’s annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula forced the authorities in Kiev to begin planning for the evacuation of their forces to mainland Ukraine.

The detention of the commander, Adm. Serhiy Haiduk, reflected the blistering pace of the Kremlin’s takeover of Crimea. President Vladimir V. Putin has described Crimea as an “inalienable” part of Russia, a statement reinforced by Moscow’s military occupation of key facilities.

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and sailors have been trapped on bases and other installations here for more than two weeks, surrounded by heavily armed Russian forces and loosely organized local militia.

On Wednesday, militiamen backed by Russian forces seized the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol and detained Admiral Haiduk in what appeared to be the start of a concerted effort to oust the Ukrainian armed forces from bases throughout the peninsula.

FULL story and video at link.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/world/europe/crimea.html?partner=EXCITE&ei=5043&_r=0

[blackspade]

1. At least they released him unharmed.

Can't say as much for the Tatar that the Cossacks/militia/Russians kidnapped and killed.

And loosely organized militia? Right. They just happened to spring up over night.
It looks like Russian has its own version of the Right Sector running things.

[davidpdx]

2. Yep

At this point the best we can hope for is that those who are in Crimea, especially Ukraine military, just get out before any other attacks happen. The Tartar people are going to have to make a choice whether to stay or not. I wish that was not the case.

[EmilyAnne]

3. Absolutely Russia has a version of Right Sector.

My God, the scariest day when I lived in Russia was Hitler's birthday.
Friends of mine who lived in the international student dorms would have to barricade themselves inside all day and night, under direction of the universities who could offer them no protection.
One of my best friends is Uzbek and lived in one of the dorms as a med student.
She said you could hear skinheads outside chanting, hear them beating on the door outside.
Luckily, most Russian doors are reenforced steel, so the only thing they could ever do was break windows with rocks, piss on the doors and break beer bottles against the walls and on sidewalks.
But it was pretty disconcerting to face that there were people walking the street who hated you that much, who were desperate to get their hands on you.


But you better believe that there is a huge problem with neo-nazi groups in Russia.
It certainly didn't help when the chief of Saint Petersburg police blamed minorities for being attacked by skinheads. He said they attracted attention when they ran from groups of skinheads. That immigrants had brought so many social problems and crime to Russia that it was understandable for some people to dislike them.
I heard it with my own ears. I felt like my brain had been scrambled and had to check the text of his interview a few days later to be sure I heard correctly. This was said by the man who was supposed to head investigations into what was an epidemic of neo-nazi assaults in St. Petersburg!


My very first day at the school where I taught I met a Kenyan woman who was also teaching English. She walked into the teachers' office with a very distraught look on her face. Turned out she had just been to visit her boyfriend, also Kenyan, who had been beaten beyond recognition by skinheads. He was in the hospital for at least a week. Fast forward a few months and she was attacked along with a female Indian friend. My Kenyan friend had braids pulled out of her head and had bruising around her eyes!
I felt so guilty to confront the fact that by that point I was actually afraid to walk down the street with her.
This all happened in Saint Petersburg mid 2000s.

[blackspade]

4. Sorry, that sucks.

My brother in law just got back from Russia from a construction job.
He said he was pretty spooked.
He told me that he always felt vaguely threatened by the folks he was working with.
Moscow was apparently pretty bad. His employer had him chauffeured around for his own protection.
Now is possible that they were just fucking with him, but the unease that he felt was pretty real.
He won't go back.