Ukraine mobilizes troops, puts military on high alert
Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had the right to invade the country. Ukraine’s security council has reportedly ordered the general staff to put its military on highest alert.
- A boy warms near a fire at a barricade in central Kiev on March 2, 2014. Ukraine said Sunday it would call up all military reservists after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to invade the country. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
- People attend a rally against Russia on Kiev’s Independence Square on March 2, 2014. Ukraine said Sunday it would call up all military reservists after President Vladimir Putin’s threat to invade Russia’s neighbor, which drew a blunt response from U.S. President Barack Obama. The stark escalation in what threatens to become the worst crisis in relations since the Cold War came as pro-Russian forces seized control of key government buildings and airports in the strategic Crimean peninsula. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)
- An Orthodox clergyman stands to bar entrance at the gate outside a Ukrainian military base that was surrounded by several hundred Russian-speaking soldiers as Ukrainian soldiers and a Ukrainian army tank stand just inside the gate in Crimea on March 2, 2014 in Perevanie, Ukraine. Several hundred heavily-armed soldiers not displaying any identifying insignia took up positions outside the base and parked several dozen vehicles, mostly trucks and patrol cars, nearby. The new government of Ukraine has appealed to the United Nations Security Council for help against growing Russian intervention in Crimea, where thousands of Russian troops reportedly arrived in recent days at Russian military bases there and also occupy key government and other installations. World leaders are scrambling to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from further escalation in Ukraine. Ukraine has put its armed forces on combat alert. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- A Maidan self-defense unit member stands at the Independence Square in central Kiev on March 2, 2014. Ukraine accused Russia of sending thousands of extra troops into Crimea as the Kremlin vowed to help restore calm on the flashpoint peninsula, and Washington warned of “costs” to Moscow should it use force. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
- Ukrainian servicemen stand guard on the territory of a military unit in the village of Perevalnoye outside Simferopol, March 2, 2014. Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade, creating the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)
- A woman lights a candle at a makeshift memorial in central Kiev on March 2, 2014. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
- A Maidan self-defense unit member guards at the Independence Square in central Kiev on March 2, 2014. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
- People stand near an ATM, as military personnel are seen in the foreground, outside the territory of a Ukrainian military unit in the village of Perevalnoye outside Simferopol, March 2, 2014. Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)
- A man mourns at a makeshift memorial for those killed in recent violence at Independence Square in Kiev, March 2, 2014. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
- A man rides a bicycle in front of a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin, guarded by people with shields in the Crimean city of Simferopol, March 2, 2014. (David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)
- A soldier who was among several hundred that took up positions around a Ukrainian military base stands near the base’s periphery in Crimea on March 2, 2014 in Perevanie, Ukraine. Several hundred heavily-armed soldiers not displaying any identifying insignia took up positions outside the base and parked several dozen vehicles, mostly trucks and patrol cars, nearby. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- A woman cries as she attends a rally at Independence Square in Kiev, March 2, 2014. Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
- eople attend a rally against Russia on Kiev’s Independence Square on March 2, 2014. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)
- A car passes through a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian militants on a road leading to Sevastopol next to a concrete block with writing that reads: “He who approaches us with a sword . . . ” in Crimea on March 2, 2014 near Verkhn’osadove, Ukraine. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- A pro-Russian militant who identifed himself as Nazar and says he is a member of the “Night Wolves” biker club helps man a checkpoint next to a sign that reads: “Where we are, there is Russia” on a road leading to Sevastopol in Crimea on March 2, 2014 near Verkhn’osadove, Ukraine. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- A pro-Russian young woman clutches a Russian flag as she poses for snapshots with soldiers who had taken up positions around a Ukrainian military base in Crimea on March 2, 2014 in Perevanie, Ukraine. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- A man stands in front of a counter’s window at a district army recruiting office in Kiev March 2, 2014. Ukraine mobilized its troops on Sunday. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
- A woman walks past an armed man near the regional parliament building in the Crimean city of Simferopol March 2, 2014.(David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)
- A truck and soldiers block the road leading to Babek Airport near Sevastopol that is occupied by Russian troops in Crimea on March 2, 2014 near Balbek, Ukraine. The new government of Ukraine has appealed to the United Nations Security Council for help against growing Russian intervention in Crimea, where thousands of Russian troops reportedly arrived in recent days at Russian military bases there and also occupy key government and other installations. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- A serviceman stands next to an armored personnel carrier (APC) in the Crimean port city of Feodosiya, March 2, 2014. (David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)
On Sunday, Russian forces in Crimea – a peninsula on the Black Sea 0 surrounded several small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded Ukrainian troops disarm. Meanwhile, Putin obtained permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned Russia for what he called an “incredible act of aggression.”
“You don’t just, in the 21st century, behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped-up pretext,” he said on CBS’ Face the Nation.