Crimean crisis

The situation in Ukraine is being called the biggest crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. It’s both a situation that is moving quickly, and one that has been centuries in the making.

Put very, very simply, Ukraine is divided. Part of it is pro-Russia, and part of it isn’t. Some people speak Russian, some don’t. Some want to be part of Russia, some don’t. But of course, it’s actually much more complicated than that, involving decades-old political tensions, economic concerns, and the world’s leaders.

The BBC describes the situation as “dangerous”, saying Crimea is a “flashpoint”, which could spark a war, similar to that in Georgia in 2008. The Telegraph explains using maps of the region, saying Ukraine and Russia are “ever closer to blows over Crimea”. The New York Times also explains with cartography. The Moscow Times says “passions are high”.

CNN calls the situation “increasingly tense”:

The United States and many European countries are demanding that Moscow scale back its deployment of troops in Ukraine's southern region of Crimea. But Russian President Vladimir Putin so far appears unfazed by the pressure. By Russia's account, its soldiers are protecting the human rights of worried, vulnerable Russian speakers. But in the U.S. view, Russia is violating international law. Caught in the middle is Ukraine's shaky new government. With armed men are locked in an uneasy standoff in Crimea, the consequences could be deadly. And their effects may ripple out far beyond Ukraine's corner of Eastern Europe.

Crimea has faced “wave after wave of invaders”, said Alexander Gertsen, the head of the history department at Crimea’s Taurida National University, speaking to AP. The latest comes after violent protests in the Ukranian capital of Kiev, with one attended by 800,000 people. With a new government installed in Kiev, fears began to grow of separatism in Crimea, and clashes began at the end of last month. Pro-Russian forces then seized strategic sites and official buildings. Russian President Vladimir Putin “insisted that the heavily armed men were … ‘local forces of self-defence’ – not Russian troops,” the BBC reports.

Authorities in Crimea have now voted 78 to zero to accelerate secession from Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation. A referendum on more autonomy for the region was also brought forward. The Guardian reports Crimea’s deputy prime minister, Rustam Temirgaliev, said the referendum was now only to “confirm” parliament's decision, and he considered Crimea to be part of Russia already. He said that all Ukrainian troops on the territory should either leave or be treated as occupiers:

The Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was "not considering" annexing Crimea, but on Thursday, Sergei Mironov, a Russian MP, said the Duma, Russia's parliament, could consider the issue as early as next week. The Duma has already begun work on a bill that would make it easier for Russia to join new territories, clearly penned with one eye on Crimea events.

Ukranian leaders condemned the vote, saying Crimea “was, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine”. The West (or the EU and US at least) called the move illegal, saying it violates international law. The BBC reports the EU threatening “serious consequences”, and the US has authorised sanctions and visa restrictions against Russia. Pravda suggests Russia is not worried about the sanctions. It also says the vote to join Russia is a “logical move”.

Who is in the right – if there’s anyone – in the situation, depends on who you ask, says CNN. A reporter at the multi-lingual Russian-based TV station RT, has quit live on air, saying that the network’s “absurd coverage of Russia’s invasion” was the last straw.

Entering the realm of the subtweet, the US State Department put out a “fact sheet” titled President Putin’s Fiction: 10 false claims about Ukraine. Writing for Time, Zeke Miller says the US rhetoric against Vladimir Putin is like that normally reserved for domestic politics, not international diplomacy. “And they point to a strategic messaging effort that the US government at all levels has embraced: Cast the conflict in Ukraine as an outgrowth of the Russian leader’s personal issues and beliefs, not the historic tensions over regional influence that date back to the Cold War.” But in Russia, Putin’s popularity has been boosted.

In the New York Times, Andrew Higgins relays the story of a museum guide telling the history of the Crimean city of Sevastapol, saying Britain, France, Turkey, Germany and others had over the centuries all tried and ultimately failed to loosen Russia’s grip. “Russia’s takeover of Crimea is already so complete,” he says, “that commercial flights to Kiev from the region’s main airport, located outside Simferopol, the regional capital 80 kilometres from Sevastopol, now leave from the international terminal instead of the domestic one as they did until last week.”

The referendum is sheduled for the 16th of March - so the crisis is far from over.