Become Russian or leave the ship, the dilemma of Ukrainian sailors…
(BRUSSELS2) According to the various messages that have reached the Ukrainian military in Crimea, they have been a little distraught, left without a clear order, waiting for help and reinforcements promised by Kiev which... have not arrived.
We close, we recover...
One by one, the various Ukrainian bases and command posts fell and were taken, officially by the Crimean "self-defense" forces. In fact, and in law (the annexation/attachment decree having been signed by Vladimir Putin), by the Russians. Yesterday it was the Navy HQ in Sevastopol that was taken over, with the arrest of the head of the Ukrainian Navy, Rear Admiral, Serhiy Hayduk (released meanwhile this morning). Then it was the turn of the Novoozerne base, which serves as a "home port" for several Ukrainian ships. And today it could be the turn of some blue flag ships in the colors of Ukraine. In any case, the Russian authorities seem determined to put an end to the Ukrainian military presence. Quickly...
Ultimatum for the Konstantin Olshansky
The following hours are, in fact, decisive for the Ukrainian navy, still blocked in the ports and harbors of Crimea. This is the case for one of the largest ships in the Ukrainian fleet, the Konstantin Olshansky (U-402), a landing ship (used in 2011 to evacuate Ukrainians stranded by the conflict from Libya). The ship is today in the bay of Donuzlav, totally "cut off from supplies and unable to get out", according to information transmitted to B2 by one of our Ukrainian colleagues, in an area blocked by the Russian navy ( thanks to ships sunk across the bay, read: Touched, sunk, blocked. Russian naval engineers strike).
The sailors were given the ultimatum with three choices - to be made by tomorrow apparently: 1) take the oath, and continue to serve in the Russian Navy, 2) take Russian citizenship and go free, 3) keep Ukrainian citizenship and leave. In all cases, the choice leads to the same objective: to give the boat to the Crimean/Russian authorities, who can then use it as bargaining chip with kyiv.
brothers in arms
Ukrainian sailors are faced with a dilemma... To fully understand the situation, we must go back a few years, the Black Sea Fleet was "one" under the Soviet flag, before the fall of the USSR and the sharing of this navy under two different flags. But since then, the two fleets have remained in the same area, sharing the same ports (or almost), or at least the same region, even the same families. The insignia of the Ukrainian Navy, by the way, remained very close in colors and shape to the insignia of the Russian Navy, not taking the cross like other branches of the army. Ukrainian sailors - many of whom speak Russian - are therefore truly torn between their roots, their profession and their homeland. So far they have held their ground. How much longer ? More than in any other army corps, this separation could be painful...
