Ukraina valde Ryssland före EU - stora protester som följd, länkar i inlägg2

More detail from Putin's conversation with Merkel - the first comments we have had from him since the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych,
Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday that Russian citizens and Russian-speakers in Ukraine faced an "unflagging" threat from ultranationalists, and that the measures Moscow has taken were completely fitting given the "extraordinary situation", the Kremlin said.

If coolness under fire is the true measure of courage, then Ukraine’s revolutionaries certainly proved their mettle. On February 20, I watched as they withstood – for a few, terrible hours – a precise and clinical onslaught from snipers deployed around Independence Square.

Even as dozens of their comrades were cut down, and live rounds cracked overhead, the protesters stood firm. Thunderclaps of gunfire reverberated from the grand colonnade of the Post Office to the burnt-out shell of Trade Union House, with the echoes making it impossible to work out where the marksmen were hidden. But there was no panic, no stampede and certainly no retreat. Thousands stayed in the exposed centre of the square and defied the snipers to do their worst. “Glory to Ukraine!” rose their chant. “Glory to Heroes!” came the answering cry.

When the gunfire finally ended, at least 29 people lay dead. But the protesters had not yielded an inch. They were still masters of the “Maidan”, as all Ukrainians know Independence Square. In retrospect, that was the tipping point at which their revolution became an unstoppable power, and Viktor Yanukovych’s downfall became inevitable.

"We gave an oath to the state of Ukraine, not an oath to one particular general, and certainly not one from another country," Major Rostislav Lomtev told the Guardian from inside the base

One marine, carrying his kalashnikov through the grounds of the base late in the evening, did not want to be identified but was happy to share his allegiances.

Asked what would happen if, next time, the Russians came with orders rather than requests, the men claimed to have no doubt. "I am Russian myself, I was born there," he said. "But we are professional soldiers and we have given an oath of duty. We will not give up this place without a fight."