Crimean authorities say Ukrainian Defense Ministry units quartered in Crimea disobey Kyiv – Interfax

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

SIMFEROPOL. March 10 (Interfax) – The units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry quartered in Crimea are off-the-line and do not obey orders of Kyiv, Crimea’s First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev told Interfax on Monday.

“Almost all military units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry located in Crimea are under control, joint patrolling of storages with arms is being held and remaining military units are dispirited. They all do not follow the orders of Kyiv and are off-the-line,” Temirgaliyev said.

According to Temirgaliyev, the Crimean authorities are ready to repel any military provocations of Kyiv. “As of today, our task is not to allow any provocations and Ukrainian servicemen realize that they will not have predominance here. For now no provocations occurred and we have peace and quiet here,” he said.

“We have absolute peace and accord between nations here. Talks of the Tatar leader with the leadership of the Crimean-Tatar diaspora are planned for today. We hold active dialog with this diaspora ourselves as well. Most likely, today’s meeting with the leader of Tatarstan will draw the line in this dialog, in a good sense,” Temirgaliyev said.

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

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