Russia denies accusations of artificially escalating the situation in Crimea. Although, one doesn't need to be a politician to understand – if there weren't a powerful military base of the Russian fleet there, the situation in the region would be more manageable and calm.
People at checkpoints are armed. To distinguish themselves, they wear armbands with the colors of the Russian flag, many in Berkut and police uniforms. Representatives of these formations claim they want to make Crimea Russian, and the checkpoints are designed to prevent "fascists" from entering the peninsula.
Cars are still being let into Crimea, but selectively subjected to rude inspections. In addition to the roads of the peninsula, the Belbek airport in Sevastopol and the international airport of Simferopol were subjected to armed attack by non-Russian military personnel.
Sergei Tsekov, a deputy of the Supreme Council of Crimea and chairman of the local Russian community, stated that all military in Crimea are self-defense units. It is only unclear where these "units" got modern weapons, equipment, as well as armored personnel carriers and Mi-24 helicopters.
