Obama in Europe with Ukraine high on agenda; Kiev orders Crimea withdrawal

Top Ukrainian and NATO officials both said Sunday they worried of an intensifying conflict.

Obama said Europe and the United States must approach that challenge united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far and prepared to go further if the situation escalates.

Obama is to meet in the Netherlands with top world leaders including Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday, and also with other major industrial nations in a session of the Group of 7. That gathering including Japan, Canada and large European powers will pointedly exclude Russia, which has typically joined sessions of an expanded Group of 8.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is not attending the summit, but sent the countrys foreign minister.

Whether that sort of diplomatic isolation matters, however, remains to be seen. Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turchynov said in the national parliament on Monday that he had told the defense ministry to issue withdrawal orders for any remaining military personnel in Crimea, the disputed region where government installations have steadily fallen under Russian control.

Russian troops are now in control of the entire Ukrainian marine base at Feodosia, said a defense ministry official, and two senior commanders have been taken into custody.

Russian troops stormed the facility, home to a well-trained and armed force, in the early morning hours, firing automatic weapons and using stun grenades, said Vladislav Seleznyov, a defense ministry spokesman. Some of the Marines had their hands bound, he said, and 80 to 100 have been gathered together in one spot.

Seleznyov said the Russians flew commander Dmitri Deliatizkii and his deputy, Rostilav Lomtev, off the base in a helicopter.

The commander of a Ukrainian base in Belbek, Yuli Mamchur, has been held by Russians since his base was stormed Saturday. Ukrainian television has reported it is believed he is being held in a jail in the port city of Sevastopol.

Russias defense ministry announced Sunday its troops have taken control of 189 Ukrainian bases and facilities in Crimea. It is not clear how many, if any, still have a Ukrainian flag flying.

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Obama in Europe with Ukraine high on agenda; Kiev orders Crimea withdrawal

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