‘Military phase’<\/strong><\/p>\nAs tension increased, Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday that an officer had been killed in an attack on a base in the Crimean capital Simferopol.<\/p>\n
At the same time, pro-Kremlin authorities reported that a member of their own forces had also been killed in the incident.<\/p>\n
The government in Kiev said it had authorised its troops to fire in self-defence.<\/p>\n
Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told an emergency meeting: “The conflict is shifting from a political to a military stage.<\/p>\n
“Russian soldiers have started shooting at Ukrainian military servicemen and that is a war crime.”<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Mark Lowen in Simferopol says there are fears that further clashes could follow.<\/p>\n
In his speech at the Kremlin on Tuesday, Mr Putin told a joint session of Russia’s parliament that Crimea had “always been part of Russia” and in signing the treaty he was righting a “historical injustice”.<\/p>\n
He later appeared before crowds in Moscow’s Red Square, telling them: “Crimea and Sevastopol are returning to… their home shores, to their home port, to Russia!”<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s interim President Olexander Turchynov said Russia’s actions were reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s takeover of Austria and the Sudetenland.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian crisis began last November after pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych ditched an EU deal in favour of stronger ties with Moscow.<\/p>\n
He fled Ukraine on 22 February after protests in which more than 80 people were killed.<\/p>\n
Pro-Russia armed men then took effective control of Crimea which has been part of Ukraine since 1954 but has a predominantly ethnic Russian population.<\/p>\n
The Crimean port city of Sevastopol is home to the Russian Black Sea fleet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia has told the US that Western sanctions over the Crimea dispute are unacceptable, and has threatened “consequences”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued the warning in a telephone call to US Secretary of State John Kerry. It came hours after Russian and Crimean leaders signed a treaty absorbing the peninsula into the Russian Federation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\n
Ukraine crisis: Russia warns West over Crimea sanctions - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n