Some 2,000 armed Russian have been reported in Crimea on Friday in what the Ukrainian government dubbed an “armed invasion,” one day after pro-Russian gunmen took control of the Crimean parliament in the aftermath of the ousting of former president Viktor Yanukovych.Crimea is a region in southern Ukraine, home to a pro-Russian majority and a smaller group of pro-Ukrainian government ethnic Tatars.The armed men patrolling the airport are wearing unmarked green uniforms, and are reportedly not directly Russian military, but may be “blackwater” troops — security contractors working for the Russian military. This video shows scores of helicopters flying to the airport at Sevastopol, which is still operational, despite all flights from Ukraine being cancelled.“They don’t have Russian military uniforms and the Russian government is denying they are part of the Russian military,” Dimitri Simes, president of the Center for the National Interest, told the Daily Beast. “But these are people that are legally allowed to perform services to the Russian fleet.”
Ukraine’s acting president Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of aggression and personally called on Putin to “stop provocations.” Despite the fact that Ukrainian officials consider this a “military invasion and occupation,” Russia has so far denied involvement.
“In an act of naked aggression against Ukraine, and under the pretense of military exercises, Russia has brought military forces into the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” Turchynov said.
Information from the region is sparse, but there are reports that gunmen have seized the Ukrtelecom building, cutting off 80 percent of Sevastopol’s phone and Internet connections. Meanwhile, Flightradar24.com tweeted that flights are actually avoiding the closed airspace over Simferopol. Roads to the airport at Sevastopol have been cut off, and some Russian sympathizers calling themselves “local militia” are obstructing road spike barriers to block highways that connect the Crimean peninsula to mainland Ukraine.Secretary of State John Kerry today warned Moscow to restrain from meddling in Ukrainian affairs and stating that military moves in Crimea would be a “grave mistake.”“While we were told that they are not engaging in any violation of the sovereignty and do not intend to, I nevertheless made it clear that that could be misinterpreted in this moment,” Secretary Kerry said today. “[I]t is important for everybody to be extremely careful not to inflame the situation and not to send the wrong messages.”Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has called on Russia to “not violate the Budapest Memorandum,” a 1994 diplomatic agreement signed by Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. that guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as an independent state.Former president Viktor Yanukovych is currently camped out in Russia, where, during a press conference in Rostov-on-Don today, he declared that he is still the rightful president who will “fight for Ukraine.” “I’m asking Russia to protect me from extremists,” he said at the conference.The U.N. Security Council called for an emergency session for later on Friday at the request of Ukraine’s new leaders.

Fact Sheet:  NATO Partnership for Peace


What It Is

--   A U.S. initiative, Partnership for Peace (PFP) was launched by 
the January 1994 NATO summit to establish strong links between 
NATO, its new democratic partners in the former Soviet bloc, and 
some of Europe's traditionally neutral countries to enhance European 
security.

--  It provides a framework for enhanced political and military 
cooperation for joint multilateral crisis management activities, 
such as humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping.

--  It enables PFP members to consult with NATO when faced with a 
direct threat to its security but does not extend NATO security 
guarantees. Participation in PFP does not guarantee entry into NATO, 
but it is the best preparation for states interested in becoming 
NATO members. 


Who Has Joined

--  26 countries:  Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, 
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Poland, 
Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, 
Uzbekistan.  


How It Works

--  Once a country has joined the PFP, it submits a Presentation 
Document to NATO explaining what resources it will contribute to 
PFP activities and the steps that it will take to meet PFP political 
goals, such as democratic control of the military.  To date, Albania, 
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, 
Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, 
Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Ukraine have submitted Presentation 
Documents.

--  A unique Individual Partnership Program (IPP), is then agreed to 
with the alliance. IPPs set forth shared objectives, (for instance, 
establishing democratic control over military forces; developing 
transparency in defense planning and budgetary processes; 
developing inter-operability with NATO forces) and list activities 
planned to meet those objectives.  

--  NATO has reached agreement on IPPs with Albania, Bulgaria, 
Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 
Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden. IPPs  for several other partners are 
under consideration.

--  Partners can assign personnel on a full-time basis to NATO 
Headquarters in Brussels and to the Partnership Coordination Cell 
(PCC) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 
Mons, Belgium.   

--  Partners may participate in an optional Defense Planning and 
Review Process (PARP) designed to evaluate and enhance a partner 
nation's interoperability with NATO. Participating states work with 
NATO to develop interoperability objectives, which can be used to 
help refine IPPs. As of May 12, 14 partners�Albania, Bulgaria, Czech 
Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Ukraine�are participating 
in PARP.
https://www.fas.org/man/nato/offdocs/us_95/dos950519.htm