Build up to WW3 - RUSSIAN TROOPS in Uneasy Standoff with UKRAINE TROOPS in CRIMEA

Obama, Merkel, and Cameron are now on a conference call to discuss this "fact" and officials have just reported that US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev tomorrow (though we suspect not Sevastopol): -- U.S. IS FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC OPTIONS ON UKRAINE, NOT ON ANY POSSIBLE U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTION, U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS -- *U.S. CONSIDERING SANCTIONS ON RUSSIAN BANKS, OFFICIAL SAYS

Russian forces now "have complete operational control of the Crimean Peninsula," a senior U.S. administration official said Sunday of the escalating crisis in Ukraine. The United States estimates there are 6,000 Russian ground and naval forces in the region, the official said. Amid the tensions, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Kiev on Tuesday, an Obama administration official said.

Ukraine's new leaders accused neighbor Russia of declaring war, as Kiev mobilized troops and called up military reservists in a rapidly escalating crisis that has raised fears of a conflict.

Amid signs of Russian military intervention in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Russian generals led their troops to three bases in the region Sunday, demanding Ukrainian forces surrender and hand over their weapons, Vladislav Seleznyov, spokesman for the Crimean Media Center of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, told CNN.

Speaking by phone, he said Russian troops had blocked access to the bases, but added, "There is no open confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian military forces in Crimea" and said Ukrainian troops continue to protect and serve Ukraine.

"This is a red alert. This is not a threat. This is actually a declaration of war to my country," Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

Speaking in a televised address from the parliament building in the capital, Kiev, he called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "pull back his military and stick to the international obligations."

"We are on the brink of the disaster."

Ukraine Navy Chief Surrenders to Russians, Charged with Treason

"Putin is playing chess, and I think we are playing marbles — and I don't think it's even close," he said.

"I believe it's the naïve position of the National Security Council and the president's advisers that, if we just keep giving things to Russia, they'll wake up and say, 'the United States is not that bad,'" Rogers said. "That is completely missing the motivations of why Russia does what Russia does."
russia crimea ukraine "coast guard" commander base military troops forces location russian agenda army armored truce peace peaceful order home Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN "we have a weak and indecisive president," and Obama's lack of bellicose response "invites aggression."

"None of us should be under any illusion about what President Putin is capable of doing in Ukraine," said Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, in a statement. "Every moment that the United States and our allies fail to respond sends the signal to President Putin that he can be even more ambitious and aggressive in his military intervention in Ukraine."

"Every moment that the United States and our allies fail to respond sends the signal to President Putin that he can be even more ambitious and aggressive in his military intervention in Ukraine," McCain said in a statement. "There is a range of serious options at our disposal at this time without the use of military force. I call on President Obama to rally our European and NATO allies to make clear what costs Russia will face for its aggression and to impose those consequences without further delay."

On Saturday the junior senator from Florida, Republican Marco Rubio, took to the pages of Politico to condemn Putin and Russia. "This is a critical moment in world history," he ominously warned. "The credibility of the alliances and security assurances that have preserved the international order is at stake. If Putin's illegal actions are allowed to stand unpunished, it will usher in a dark and dangerous era in world affairs."