"Putin visits Crimea to mark holiday celebrating Soviet victory in World War II" is an article published today by the Washington Post.
"President Vladimir Putin declared Friday that 2014 would enter “the history of our country” as he visited Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on the annexed peninsula of Crimea, asserting Moscow’s right to retake a territory that has deep roots in Russian nationalism but since 1991 had been part of an independent Ukraine," the article reports.
"The visit to Sevastopol was Putin’s first to Crimea since Russia annexed the peninsula in March, setting off an international crisis that has threatened to throw Ukraine into civil war. The peninsula and its main port, founded by Catherine the Great in 1783, is now firmly back under Russian control."
"The visit drew immediate condemnation from the head of NATO. Other world leaders had counseled against Putin’s trip in advance.
'We consider the Russian annexation of Crimea to be illegal, illegitimate and we don’t recognize it,' NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Tallinn, Estonia, the Associated Press reported. 'We still consider Crimea as Ukrainian territory, and from my knowledge the Ukrainian authorities haven’t invited Putin to visit Crimea, so from that point of view his visit to Crimea is inappropriate.'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier this week that a parade in Crimea would be 'a shame.'
"The holiday came amid escalating violence in Ukraine that threatens to worsen within days. Victory Day commemorations on Friday providing new flashpoints for confrontation ahead of a planned independence referendum Sunday organized by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. If that poll leads to further deaths, Ukrainian leaders fear that Russia might invade. Putin has promised to defend Russian interests in Ukraine if they came under attack."
"Russian television stations — all of which are now pro-Kremlin after the more skeptical TV Rain was pushed off cable packages in January — have devoted nonstop programming to allegations of abuse in Ukraine, resurrecting World War II-era language to describe some Ukrainian nationalists as fascists and Nazis. Putin’s approval ratings have soared to multi-year heights, above 80 percent."
