Earlier today, Ukraine said Russian forces controlling the disputed peninsula of Crimea demanded that the crew of two Ukrainian warships must surrender or face capture.
A Russian Navy commander also ordered that that all Ukrainian forces in the region must surrender by 5 a.m. local time Tuesday or face “a real assault,” the Interfax news agency reported.
A Russian Black Sea Fleet official later told the Interfax news agency that there are no plans to launch an assault on Ukrainian military units in Crimea and the fleet did not set an ultimatum to surrender, according to Reuters.
Despite the claims, the EU is threatening to freeze visa liberalization and economic cooperation talks and boycott the G8 summit in Russia's Sochi if Moscow does not back off in Ukraine.
Laurent Fabius, a French Foreign Minister said the EU would give Russia until an emergency summit of EU leaders is held on Thursday to show clear signs of goodwill, including a willingness to open talks and a withdrawal of Russian troops to their barracks in the Crimea.
Fabius said the EU would start implementing punitive measures.
The uncertainty of the situation going forward roiled global financial markets Monday, as Russia continued to impose its military presence on Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Maksim Prauta said Monday that four Russian navy ships were blocking Ukraine's anti-submarine warship Ternopil and the command ship Slavutych in Sevastopol's harbor. He said the Russians ordered the crew to surrender within the hour or face Russians storming and seizing the ships and crew.
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting this afternoon to address the crisis.
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