Russia seizes a Ukrainian naval base in Crimea, plus its Ukrainian officers

Russian soldiers stormed a Ukrainian naval base in Fedodsia, Crimea, early Monday, firing automatic weapons and using stun grenades to overcome nominal resistance from reportedly unarmed Ukrainian marines. The Russian soldiers took the Ukrainian officers to a separate location for questioning. The Fedodsia base, used by Ukraine's elite 1st Separate Marine Battalion, was the third Ukrainian base to fall since Sunday, and had been one of the last symbols of Ukrainian resistance to Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
Later Monday, President Obama will meet with his counterparts from Europe and Japan, and the Ukraine situation will be at the top of their agenda. "We cannot have countries purporting to annex parts of independent nations," Obama told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. "The international law and principles at the heart of our international system have to mean something."
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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