Via NPR:
Russian soldiers have not occupied government buildings and surrounded Ukrainian military bases on the Crimean Peninsula, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Tuesday during a news conference near Moscow at which he gave an account of recent events that contradicts reports from the ground.
Instead, he told reporters that the heavily armed men are “local self-defense forces.”
What’s more, anything Russia has done, Putin said without offering specifics, has been part of a “humanitarian mission” to protect ethnic Russians in Crimea.
But even as he said that no Russian troops have been involved in the latest events in Crimea, Putin drew comparisons that would seem to indicate they had been. “Our actions are often described by the West as not legitimate, but look at U.S. operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya,” he said, according to a BBC translation of his comments. “Our actions are legitimate from the point of view of international law, because Ukraine’s legitimate president asked us for help. … Defending these people is in our interests … we do not want to ‘enslave’ anyone.”
Except for the Russian helicopters, the heavily armed Russian guys surrounding the military bases, the equipment with Russian license places, the self-propelled Russian artillery….
Just visiting 😉 #crimea #ukraine #russia #putin #euromaidan #un #us #uk #eu #canada #germany #євромайдан #арк #крим pic.twitter.com/U0ynnzspbf
— Zen (@ZenAntipop) March 4, 2014
License plates? What license plates?
#Ukraine: totally non-existing #Russia troops. Because everbyody knows "RUS " is kyrillic for #Crimea self defense pic.twitter.com/vqeShDKXuT
— East of Brussels (@EastOfBrussels) March 4, 2014