adminNATO’s top military commander says Russia has amassed a force on Ukraine’s eastern border large enough to pose a threat to other post-Soviet republics.
United States Air Force General Philip Breedlove said Russia had assembled enough forces to run to the pro-Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova, if it decided it wanted to.
“The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready,” Breedlove told an event held by the German Marshall Fund thinktank.
“There is absolutely sufficient (Russian) force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transnistria if the decision was made to do that and that is very worrisome. Russia is acting much more like an adversary than a partner,” he said.
Breedlove’s comments followed an announcement by Russia that it had now taken control of 189 Ukrainian military installations in Crimea.
Russian troops on Saturday had used automatic fire and stun grenades to smash their way into bases at Belbek and Novofedorovka, which were among the last still under Ukrainian control after Moscow’s armed takeover and subsequent annexation of Crimea. Ukrainian forces also abandoned a naval base after attacks by pro-Russian protesters.
Russian forces had already seized Belbek’s airstrip and warplanes at the start of the crisis. The compound contained barracks, arms depots and a command building.
Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, the commander of the base, said a Ukrainian serviceman had been injured and that he himself he was being taken away by the Russians for talks at an unspecified location.
Asked if he thought he would return safely, Mamchur said: “That remains to be seen. For now we are placing all our weapons in the base’s storage.”
Earlier, an unidentified Russian officer with no rank insignia had gone to the fence to try to negotiate a surrender, but had been rebuffed by a Ukrainian officer with the words: “We have no documents from the Ukrainian president stating that this is Russian soil. Bring me such a document and we will leave.”
In a separate development, the Ukrainian warship Slavutych was raided by Russian troops in Sevastopol, Crimea residents said, citing relatives of the crew.
Ukraine’s naval base at Novofedorovka, near Sevastopol, was vacated after unarmed pro-Russian protesters attempted to force their way in, Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said in a Facebook post. — AP
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