Crimea standoff continues

US Secretary of State John Kerry lays red roses to the Shrine of the Fallen, an homage to anti-government protesters who died during the February clashes with anti-riot policemen in Kiev, yesterday. Photo: AFP

Russian forces fired warning shots on Ukrainian soldiers at a base near Sevastopol yesterday as tensions flared in the standoff over Crimea.
It appeared to be the first shots fired since Russian forces began surrounding Ukrainian military facilities in the flashpoint peninsula.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk yesterday said that his government had made the first "timid" contacts with Russian leaders aimed at resolving the crisis.
The contacts came in the midst of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State John Kerry and appeared to reflect combined efforts by Washington and its European allies to prevent an all-out confrontation from flaring up on Europe's eastern edge.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday told troops to return to their permanent bases after calling a snap drill to check their battle-readiness last week.
Putin on February 26 ordered snap combat readiness drills involving thousands of troops, in what was ostensibly a routine exercise unconnected to the situation in Ukraine.
The drill involved army, navy and airforce troops based in the central and western military districts, a vast territory that includes regions bordering Ukraine but also extending to the Arctic.
The drill, which was initially announced to finish on Monday, came shortly before Russian security forces began operating covertly in Crimea and Putin gained permission from senators for military intervention on Saturday.
The announcement of the end of the drill was widely interpreted as a positive signal as Russia teeters on the brink of war in Ukraine.
In Crimea, pro-Russian troops guarding an airfield in Belbek, near Sevastopol, fired the shots in the air as a column of about 300 Ukrainian troops approached around 9:00am local time (0700 GMT), Ukrainian officers told AFP.
But the situation was negotiated before things could get worse, sources said.
Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainian military bases across Crimea following the of the Russia-backed government in Ukraine.
Tensions are high, but eased slightly yesterday morning after fears of an imminent assault by Russian forces did not materialise overnight.
Ukrainian officials said Monday that Russia had given Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea an ultimatum to surrender or face an all-out assault, although Russia denounced the claim as "complete nonsense".
Meanwhile, media reported yesterday said two Russian warships crossed Turkey's Bosphorus Strait and headed towards the Black Sea en route to Ukraine to strengthen its military presence in Crimea.
Ukrainian defence officials said Russian vessels were also blocking Ukrainian warships from trying to leave the port, which has been the home of the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet for some 250 years.
Russia yesterday carried out a successful test-launch of an "advanced" intercontinental ballistic missile, state news agencies reported.
 A US defense official later said Russia informed the United States in advance about the experiment.