At Crimea Base, Ukraine Marines Seek Honorable Retreat

Russians Hold Base, Ukrainians Hold Barracks, Armory

Ukraine’s lingering military presence in Crimea continues to wane, but with the chain of command in their military strained by regime change and sackings, some troops are still waiting for orders to leave.

Ukrainian marines at the Feodosia base are still waiting, even though Russian troops took the base over earlier this month. The marines hold the base’s armory, and barracks, and haven’t been seriously contested by the Russians.

They reported some attempts to convince them to defect and “provocations,” but the marines have held their portion of the base, and continue to fly the Ukrainian flag, which is now alongside a Russian flag put up by the Russian soldiers.

They’re waiting for an “honorable retreat,” either orders from whoever it turns out is their commander in Kiev, or for the Russians to just take over and force them out. Ukraine’s interim Defense Minister says the troops will eventually be relocated to Ukraine, but “no official decision” was made yet.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.