Key Developments

• This morning, disguised Russian troops, supported by local militia, stormed and captured the Ukrainian naval headquarters in Sevastopol. Rear Admiral Sergei Haiduk, the base commander, was captured along with a number of his men.
   
• Hours after President Putin of Russia reclaimed Crimea as part of Russia, a Ukrainian military mapping office near Simferopol was attacked by pro-Russian forces.  One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another wounded. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yastenyuk has characterized the attack and killing of a Ukrainian soldier as a war crime.
   
• Recognizing the inability of its soldiers to continue resisting in Crimea, Ukraine is preparing to evacuate all of its military personnel and their families.
   
• President Obama has invited the leaders of the G-7 to a meeting on March 24 on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit being held next week in The Hague.
   
• President Xi Jinping of China, who is travelling to Europe next week, is expected to meet with President Obama at The Hague to discuss the Crimean crisis.
   
• In a speech before the British Parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that Russia could be expelled from the G8. The U.K. has already suspended military cooperation with Russia.
   
• In yesterday’s phone conversation between President Obama and Chancellor Merkel of Germany, both leaders condemned Russia’s move to annex Crimea as a violation of international law, and Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. They agreed on the need to send international observers from the OSCE and the UN to Ukraine immediately, as well as the need to stabilize the Ukrainian economy.
   
• After meeting with Prime Minister Tusk of Poland, Vice President Biden also met yesterday with Presidents Komorowski of Poland and Ilves of Estonia.
   
  • Polish President Komorowski warned that Russian aggressions were a result of a quadrupling of Russia’s military budget over the last eight years, while many European countries had cut theirs. Seeking to reassure these Eastern European NATO allies, Biden responded, “You have an ally whose budget is larger than the next 10 nations in the world combined.”
     
  • “If the international community does not stand up, then the international community will collapse,” warned Estonian President Ilves in remarks with Biden, “The kind of behavior we see is dangerous for the world.”
     
  • Biden also raised the prospect of the rotation of additional U.S. forces to the region for military exercises.
     
• Vice President Joe Biden traveled overnight to Lithuania for meetings with Presidents Grybauskaite of Lithuania and Berzins of Latvia.
   
  • Lithuanian President Grybauskaite called Russian actions in Crimea a direct threat to the region.
     
• On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen held talks in Washington, D.C. with senior U.S. government officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
   
• In response to calls to provide Ukraine with military assistance, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has stated that the U.S. is reviewing requests made by the Ukrainian government, but that the focus would remain “on economic and diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation in the Ukraine.”
   
• Pro-Russian forces have seized many of Crimea’s most valuable assets, including assets owned by Ukrainian ministries, trade unions and oligarchs.
   

Government Statements

Vladimir Putin, “Address by President of the Russian Federation,” The Kremlin, March 18, 2014

“Readout of the President’s Call with Chancellor Merkel of Germany,” The White House, March 18, 2014

“Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden and President Toomas Ilves of Estonia,” The White House, March 18, 2014

“Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden with President Bronislaw Komorowski of Poland,” The White House, March 18, 2014

“Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden with Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland,” The White House, March 18, 2014

Jay Carney, “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 3/18/2014,” The White House, March 18, 2014

“NATO Secretary General in Washington to discuss Ukraine crisis, Wales summit,” NATO, March 18, 2014

Analytical Pieces

Matthew Sussex, “Russia-Crimea: Putin’s revanchism,” The Interpreter, March 19, 2014

Sam Roggeveen, “Crimea: Europe’s holiday from strategy is over,” The Interpreter, March 19, 2014

Michael Tomasky, “Three Questions for Ukraine Hawks,” The Daily Beast, March 19, 2014

Pawel Sweiboda, “Europe’s Eastward Evangelists: Why Poland Holds the Key to Ukraine’s Future,” Foreign Affairs, March 18, 2014

Dominique Arel, “Double-Talk: Why Ukrainians Fight Over Language,” Foreign Affairs, March 18, 2014

Jonathan Marcus, “Analysis: Russia’s Crimea move poses West huge questions,” BBC News, March 18, 2014

Hanna Kozlowska, “Russia Sanctions Fail to Soothe Poland’s Frayed Nerves,” Foreign Policy, March 18, 2014

Jamila Trindle and Keith Johnson, “Clean Slate?: Russia’s annexation of Crimea could wipe away billions of dollars of Ukrainian debt,” Foreign Policy, March 18, 2014

John Hudson, “Ukraine Warns of War as Russia Annexes Crimea,” Foreign Policy, March 18, 2014

Christopher Dickey, “Why Putin Did It,” The Daily Beast, March 18, 2014

David Ignatius, “What we learned in Crimea,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2014

Ulrike Lunacek, “PN Member Ulrike Lunacek in Favor of Special OSCE Mission for Crimea,” EastWest Institute, March 18, 2014

Jamie Dettmer, “Ukraine Expects U.S. Military If War With Russia Starts,” The Daily Beast, March 17, 2014

Samuel Charap and Keith Darden, “Russia’s unclear motives in Ukraine,” International Institute for Strategic Studies, March 3, 2014