According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, a “truce” has been agreed to with Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea for the next week.
During the truce, the two sides won’t engage in hostilities toward one another, and Russia has agreed not to contest the control of Ukrainian military bases in the Crimean Peninsula.
It’s likely not to last long, as Crimeans voted earlier today to continue their secession from Ukraine and seek to join the Russian Federation, and it is unlikely either the Crimeans or the Russians will want Ukraine to keep bases in their territory in the long run.
Many of Ukraine’s troops in the peninsula defected to Crimea in the early stages of secessionist protests, but some bases have remained under Ukrainian control. According to officials, the truce is in effect until Friday, and Ukraine will use that opportunity for “a replenishment of reserves.”
The object of the truce is probably to allow Ukrainian troops to be evacuated. Many of the soldiers said to have "defected" to Crimea probably did so to avoid having to fight and would like to get back to their homes. Ukraine's army is, like Russia's, a conscript army and in today's world, young people do not want to fight for governments or ideologies. Russian conscripts would "defectt" in exactly the same way and for exactly the same reasons if they were asked to fight. That's the great waekness of Putin's position.