The last Ukrainian warship “fell”
As revealed by the representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Vladislav Seleznioff, the attackers embarked aboard the minesweeper Cherkassy, on Donuzlav Lake, while the crew was closed inside the vessel. According to one Ukrainian, who is aboard and contacted the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, the attackers reached the ship with two speedboats, while helicopters flew over the lake.
The Russian forces seized the last large landing craft, Konstantin Olshansky, and also tried to get the Cherkassy, but the boat maneuvered cleverly without stopping to let them board, said the sailor, who is called, Oleksandr Gutnik, according to the electronic version of Ukrainska Pravda. Ukrainian vessels are blocked at Donuzlav Lake as the Russian fleet has blocked with its own ships the passage to the Black Sea. Once capturing a Marine Corps base in Feodosia, the Russians essentially fully control Crimea.
Sense of crisis and blaming
In Kiev there is a sense of crisis, as the new divided government expelled the transitional Minister of Defense for the loss of Crimea and submitted a request for financial assistance amounting to several billion dollars to the International Monetary Fund. Critics accused Igor Tenyuh for lack of leadership and blamed him for the bloodless conquest of the peninsula by the Russians. General Michael Koval was appointed as his successor. Some Parliament Members also called the transitional president to resign after he ordered 6,500 members of the Ukrainian military personnel to leave Crimea, where the majority of residents speak in Russian. However, the Parliament supported him by a narrow majority.
Obama: "No simple solution for Crimea"
Speaking during the Summit on Nuclear Security in Hague, the U.S. President Barack Obama admitted that there is "no simple solution" to restore the sovereignty of Ukraine in Crimea, excluding the use of force. "The fact is that the Russian army controls Crimea. There are a number of persons in Crimea that support this process. There is no expectation that they can be removed by force" he said and added that if Russia fails to "act responsibly; there will be additional costs, which will have some consequences for the global economy, but the greatest impact will be in Russia".
Cancellation of the G8 summit in Sochi
The U.S. and EU have already imposed sanctions on Russia and also cancelled the summit of the Group of Eight (G8), that was to be held in June in Sochi, Russia. Instead it will become a G7 summit in
Brussels without the presence of Russia. The threat of broader Western sanctions already allows capitals to leave Russia. According to Financial Times of London, Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Klepach. predicts that up to 70 billion dollars may be transferred outside Russia only in the first three months, an amount that exceeds the total funds which came from the Russian territory throughout 2013. With lending rates dropping, Moscow annulled a government bond auction, which was to the fourth consecutive cancellation of such an offer.