Russia fires its first shots in Crimea - PHOTO+VIDEO

About a dozen Russian soldiers at the base warned the Ukrainians, who were marching unarmed, not to approach. They fired several warning shots into the air and said they would shoot the Ukrainians if they continued to advance.The Ukrainian forces are believed to be led by Colonel Yuli Mamchor, commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at Belbek, who was seen speaking to gun-wielding Russian troops at the air base.The stand-off comes as Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of Russian troops participating in military exercises near Ukraine's border to return to their base.But the Russian president showed no signs of loosening the stranglehold on the Crimean peninsula, openly defying the threat of diplomatic and economic sanctions from world leaders.He later described events in Ukraine as an 'anti-constitutional coup and armed seizure of power' at a press conference this morning, adding that 'militants' had plunged the country into 'chaos'.Putin added that there is currently no need for Russian troops to extend further into Ukraine than Crimea, but he has not ruled out doing so.Russia reserves the right to use 'all means' to protect citizens in Ukraine, he told a news conference.Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will meet EU leaders on Thursday ahead of an emergency summit the same day on the crisis in his country, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said.EU leaders 'will discuss situation in Ukraine with PM Yatsenyuk in Brussels [on] Thursday prior to extraordinary summit,' Van Rompuy said on Twitter this morning.Earlier in the day, two Russian warships on their way to Crimea passed through Istanbul's Bosphorus straits.The Saratov and Yamal warships, which are usually based in the Mediterranean, were seen sailing unaccompanied through the Marmara Sea before entering the straits at around 7.30am local time. At the same time as the Russian warships headed towards the Crimea, a Ukrainian ship called 'Hetman Sahaidachny entered the straits at Canakkale in Turkey.The head of Ukraine's security service also this morning suggested the country has come under a number of cyber attacks from illegal telecommunications equipment installed in Crimea since Russian troops moved into the region.Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said the mobile phones of lawmakers had been hit by the cyber attacks.The Kremlin, which does not recognise the new Ukrainian leadership, insists it made the move to protect millions of Russians living in the region, with Moscow's UN envoy adding that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych had asked the country to send troops across the border.Ukraine has effectively lost control of the Crimean peninsula and admits it has ‘no military options’ to make Moscow withdraw.Although the Russian president has kept his silence on the crisis, his foreign minister said Russian troops were protecting people from ‘ultra-nationalist threats’ and would be staying put.Justifying military action, Sergei Lavrov said: ‘This is a question of defending our citizens and compatriots, ensuring human rights, especially the right to life.’The disclosure of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych's support for Russian military intervention was made at the third emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council since Friday.Moscow's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin told a Security Council meeting Yanukovych wrote to Putin on Saturday requesting Russian troops be sent into Ukraine.It came amid fears that the Kremlin might carry out more land grabs in pro-Russian eastern Ukraine.Russia faced demands from almost all council members to pull its troops out of Crimea and got no support for its military action from close ally China.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az