Ukraine to withdraw troops from Crimea
Ukraine is preparing to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea, officials in Kiev announced Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Andriy Parubiy, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Ukraine, said that we are working on a plan to quickly and effectively transport not only military servicemen but also their families to the territory of mainland Ukraine.
Parubiy said that the ministry of foreign affairs has asked the United Nations to classify Crimea as a demilitarized zone and also called for the withdrawal of Russian troops.
He also said Ukraine will hold military maneuvers with the countries that signed the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. He didn't elaborate.
The document was signed by the U.S., Britain and Russia to guarantee Ukraine's territorial integrity when it surrendered its share of Soviet nuclear arsenals to Russia after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. Ukraine has accused Russia of breaching the agreement by taking over the Crimean Peninsula.
U.S defense officials were caught off guard by the announcement but quickly pointed out that U.S. and NATO forces have conducted an annual military exercise with Ukrainian forces each July for several years.
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Ukraine has been powerless to prevent Russian troops from taking control of Crimea, which Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed on Tuesday.
A day later, masked Russian-speaking troops moved into Ukraine's naval headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, detaining the head of Ukraine's navy and seizing the facility. They faced no resistance.
Earlier on Wednesday, Acting President of Ukraine Oleksander Turchinov gave the "self-proclaimed government of Crimea" a deadline 3 p.m. ET to release all hostages and stop provocations on the peninsula, according to Turchinov's website.
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