SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine—A week ago, Dmitry Polonsky was a fringe political activist in the Ukrainian province of Crimea, signing up middle-aged men rankled by the new authorities in Kiev to a small pro-Russia militia.Keep reading.
Today, as thousands of Russian troops swarm through Crimea, Mr. Polonsky's star is rising. He introduces himself as an adviser to Crimea's new prime minister. His Russian Unity party, though holding only three of 100 seats in the regional assembly, is the de facto authority in the Black Sea peninsula that has cut itself off from mainland Ukraine. On Sunday, the party's leader said he would be raising an army to defend Crimea against invasion from Kiev.
"The government of Crimea will be owned by Crimeans," Mr. Polonsky told a gathering Sunday, as Russian flags waved above the crowd.
The sudden rise of Russian Unity shows how the Kremlin, faced with a pro-Europe uprising in Kiev that emerged victorious, responded by helping push a once-marginal group of Russian nationalists into power—a feat of political stagecraft that played out like clockwork under the cover of chaos.
The turn of events in Crimea shows how adroitly Moscow has used old allies and long-simmering resentments to fill a power vacuum left by the Feb. 22 overthrow of Ukraine's Russian-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych . By potentially transforming Crimea into a dubious unrecognized republic and destabilizing Ukraine's east, Moscow has gained a crucial lever of power over the new, weak government in Kiev...
More, "U.S., Europe Threaten to Punish Putin: Russia's Crimea Incursion Sparks Demand for Withdrawal, Talk of Sanctions; 'They Are Settling In'."
And at the Washington Post, "Ukraine Prime minister says country is ‘on the brink of disaster’."
BONUS: Julie Ioffie on CNN yesterday, "The Ukrainian Military is in a Very Bad Position Vis-à-Vis Russia Right Now..."
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