Ukrainian ministers barred from entering Crimea

Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-3-19 23:06:10

Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema and Defense Minister Igor Tenyukh have been barred from entering Crimea, the Minister of Social Policy Lyudmila Denisova said on Wednesday.

"We will call a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council over this issue," Denisova said without giving further details.

Yarema and Tenyukh were reportedly travelling from Kiev to Crimea by a plane to "resolve the tense situation" in the crisis-hit peninsula.

Earlier Wednesday, Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksenov said that the Crimean authorities would not issue permission for the Ukrainian ministers to land.

A day after Crimea signed a treaty with Kremlin to join Russia, clashes occurred in the peninsula between the pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian supporters.

Crimean self-defense, which backed the peninsula's integration with Russia, stormed the Ukrainian army headquarters in the city of Sevastopol, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press office said that a group of unidentified men have taken the Ukrainian Navy chief, Sergey Gaiduk, from the Ukrainian navy headquarters.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed in Moscow a treaty to accept the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as part of the Russian territory.

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