A Ukrainian marine speaks with family members before departing Crimea outside a Ukrainian military base in the Crimean port city of Feodosiya on March 24.
Ukrainian Troops In Crimea Face 'Stay Or Go' Dilemma -- Radio Free Europe
SEVASTOPOL, Crimea -- Olha's husband was a Ukrainian military specialist at the Belbek base near Sevastopol, Ukraine's main air base in Crimea, until it was stormed by Russian troops on March 22.
Now Crimea's crisis is forcing the couple to choose the least bad option for their future.
They, like the families of thousands of other Ukrainian military personnel who've lived their entire lives in Crimea, are trapped in a no-man's land.
Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchnyov on March 24 ordered Kyiv's Defense Ministry to withdraw all Ukrainian troops from Crimea.
But many soldiers and their families have no place to go on the mainland unless Kyiv provides support. But if they stay, they face pressure to swear loyalty to Moscow and, according to new legislation, will automatically be made Russian nationals unless they declare their desire to retain Ukrainian citizenship -- which they fear could lead to reprisals.
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My Comment: Apparently 15,000 Ukrainian servicemen in Crimea have already chosen to join the Russian military and/or law enforcement. These dislocations are causing a great deal of bitterness .... not only in Crimea for Ukrainians but for Russians who no longer feel safe in western Ukraine and have made the choice to leave. What's my take .... I suspect that this "bitterness" is going to be around for a very long time.
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