In this Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 file photo anti-government protesters armed with sticks and shields sing the national anthem in central Kiev, Ukraine. For the past three months tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been singing the Ukrainian national anthem on Kiev’s central square, the Maidan, appearing united as one in their urge to secure a better life for their country. But in fact, the protest movement is far from monolithic, uniting pro-Western intelligentsia and wealthy businessmen, white-collar office clerks, student romantics, radical far-right groups, as well as singers, poets and even priests _ brought together by their resentment of the government of the now fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych. AP
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Ukraine’s acting interior minister says Interior Ministry troops and police have been put on high alert after dozens of men seized local government and legislature buildings in the Crimea region.
The intruders raised a Russian flag over the parliament building in the regional capital, Simferopol, but didn’t immediately voice any demands.
Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page on Thursday that areas around the occupied buildings were being sealed off by police.
He said: “Measures have been taken to counter extremist actions and not allow the situation to escalate into an armed confrontation in the center of the city.”