Crimea forms its own armed forces
8 March 2014, 18:32 -- On Saturday, military units in the city of Simferopol in the Crimea Peninsula in Ukraine held a ceremony of an oath of loyalty to Crimea's people.
The Crimea Peninsula has a status of a so-called 'autonomous republic' within Ukraine, and Simferopol is the capital of this republic. At present, Crimea's local authorities and the majority of the population do not support the new Ukrainian government and want the peninsula to separate from Ukraine and become a part of Russia.
The ceremony took place near a monument to heroes of WWII in the Gagarin Park in Simferopol.
The Prime Minister of the Crimean Republic Sergey Aksyonov, who was present at the ceremony, called it a historical event.
'This ceremony marked the official formation of Crimea's own armed forces,' Mr. Aksyonov said, 'although, de facto, Crimea has had its own armed forces for some time already. I hope that these forces will ensure peace in Crimea, especially during the coming referendum concerning Crimea's future status.'
Answering journalists' questions, Sergey Aksyonov stressed that Crimea's armed forces are formed to defend the peninsula's residents and not to attack anyone.
Voice of Russia, Interfax
Source: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_03_08/ Crimea-forms-its-own-armed-forces-1216/
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