ODESSA, Ukraine Ukraine's navy is in Odessa's harbor, though it can be hard to spot.
It's tucked behind a collection of storage tanks and overshadowed by immense cargo vessels docked nearby. There are a couple dozen boats, few much larger than a decent-sized yacht and many in desperate need of repair. The government is begging the public to help pay their bills.
This is what's left of Ukraine's fleet since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula two months ago, taking with it the navy's key base and most of its ships.
"Times are not the best for the fleet now," admitted Capt. Oleh Chubuk, spokesman for Ukraine's naval command.
The reality is far worse. Separatist unrest is battering eastern Ukraine, breakaway leaders have vowed to disrupt Sunday's presidential elections and Crimea has been annexed by Russia.
Ukraine's military is facing its worst crisis ever with a navy that has lost two-thirds of its vessels, an army desperate for basic equipment and a defense ministry that has taken to hustling 50-cent donations that people can make with mobile phone text messages. It has raised over $1 million so far that way enough to buy one interceptor missile on a U.S. Navy warship but military officials are thrilled.
"We'll use the money to buy the things we lack, like bulletproof helmets and medical supplies," said Bogdan Buta, Ukraine's deputy defense minister.
Kiev's Western allies, meanwhile, including the United States, have shown little willingness to help it rearm, fearing that more weaponry could upset diplomatic negotiations or provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin even further.
The loss of Crimea, a peninsula that dangles from the Ukrainian mainland deep into the Black Sea, meant the loss of Kiev's naval headquarters as well as a series of navy bases and all the ships and boats in port there.
This has left Ukraine with little influence over its own crisis, and, despite its long coastline and numerous ports, little power in the Black Sea.
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Ukraine faces Russia with a crippled navy, crowd-funded budget: "Times are not the best"