http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2568206/Preparing-war-Putin-orders-immediate-test-troops-combat-readiness-10-000-Muslim-supporters-Ukraine-s-new-government-clash-pro-Russian-group-Crimea.html
Preparing for war: Putin 'orders immediate test of troops' combat readiness' as 10,000 Muslim supporters of Ukraine's new government clash with pro-Russian group in Crimea
- [size=18.2]President Putin has this afternoon ordered an immediate test of troops' combat readiness, according to the Russian defence minister[/size]
- [size=18.2]Protesters backing new government have clashed with Russian supporters[/size]
- [size=18.2]Police struggled to hold two groups apart as fist-fights broke out in Crimea[/size]
- [size=18.2]Eastern peninsula is strategically important home of Russian Black Fleet[/size]
- [size=18.2]Earlier William Hague and John Kerry appealed for unity in the country
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- [size=18.2]Fears are that Pro-European West could split from Russian-affiliated East[/size]
By Chris Pleasance
PUBLISHED: 04:35 EST, 26 February 2014 |
UPDATED: 10:48 EST, 26 February 2014
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![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-000DB7061000044C-842_306x462](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-000DB7061000044C-842_306x462.jpg)
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Russian president Vladimir Putin is said to have ordered a test of troops' combat readiness as viloence flares in Crimea, the site of a Russian naval base
[size=15.6]President Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered an immediate test of combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia.
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[size=15.6]Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu is reported as saying Putin ordered the test at 2pm Moscow time on Wednesday.
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[size=15.6]Violence has also broken out in Ukraine's eastern Crimea region as Muslim supporters of the new government clash with pro-Russian demonstrators.[/size]
[size=15.6]Over 10,000 Muslim Crimean Tatars rallied in support of Ukraine's interim leaders, waving Ukrainian flags and chanting 'Ukraine is not Russia' and 'Allahu Akbar'.[/size]
[size=15.6]However fist-fights broke out after police struggled to keep them separate from a smaller pro-Russian rally nearby.[/size]
[size=15.6]The tensions in Crimea - a peninsula jutting into the Black Sea that is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet - highlight the divisions that run through this country after months of protests that ousted pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych.[/size]
[size=15.6]It also underscores fears that the country's mainly Russian-speaking east will not recognise the interim authorities' legitimacy. [/size]
[size=15.6]The news will disappoint John Kerry and William Hague who earlier urged Ukraine to stay unified while insisting that the country is not a battleground between East and West.[/size]
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![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BDA934700000578-715_634x445](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BDA934700000578-715_634x445.jpg)
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More violence broke out today between pro-Russian demonstrators and supporters of the new government in the eastern peninsula of Crimea
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BDA874800000578-64_634x445](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BDA874800000578-64_634x445.jpg)
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Blows were exchanged by groups arguing over the future of their country as Putin readies his troops
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD8E77100000578-976_634x396](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD8E77100000578-976_634x396.jpg)
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Pro-Russian activists have clashed with demonstrators backing Ukraine's new government in Crimea
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BC8DAD100000578-680_634x436](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BC8DAD100000578-680_634x436.jpg)
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Ukraine could divide into two separate countries as the West seeks new leadership and closer ties with Europe, while the East affiliates itself with Russia
[size=15.6]UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke after meeting yesterday, with Mr Hague saying he wanted 'to send our strong support for the territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine.'[/size]
[size=15.6]Mr Kerry echoed the sentiments of Mr Hague. In comments published by
The Telegraph, he said: 'This is not a zero-sum game, it is not a West versus East.[/size]
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[size=15.6]'This is about the people of Ukraine and Ukrainians making their choice about their future.'[/size]
[size=15.6]Mr Hague, who is planning to visit Kiev shortly added: 'This is a country that needs financial assistance from many sources, including from Russia.[/size]
[size=15.6]'It's not about pulling them away from Russia. It's about enabling them to make their own choices.'[/size]
[size=15.6]Crimean Tatars took an active part in the protest movement against Yanukovych and harbor deep resentment against the Kremlin, having been deported en masse on the orders of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin during the World War II.[/size]
Pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian protesters at Crimean parliament
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BDA89FC00000578-127_634x450](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BDA89FC00000578-127_634x450.jpg)
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Russian flags can be seen in the background as demonstrators clash with those carrying the Ukrainian and Tartar flag in the foreground
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD9094800000578-386_634x396](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD9094800000578-386_634x396.jpg)
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The news of further clashes underscores the difficulties facing Ukraine as the pro-European West divides from the Russian East
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD91E1000000578-324_634x453](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD91E1000000578-324_634x453.jpg)
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Yesterday Crimean citizens cheered as riot police from the pro-Russian Berkut brigade fled there, while in the West other were forced to knee on a stage and beg for forgiveness
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD8CF2C00000578-777_634x465](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD8CF2C00000578-777_634x465.jpg)
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During a meeting in Kiev today, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was seen for the first time without her wheelchair as she shook hands with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns
[size=15.6]'We will not let the fate of our land to be decided without us,' said Nuridin Seytablaev, 54, an engineer. 'We are ready to fight for Ukraine and our European future.'
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[size=15.6]Nearby, separated by police lines, Anton Lyakhov, 52, waved a Russian flag. He said: 'Only Russian can defend us from fascists in Kiev and from Islamic radicals in Crimea.'
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[size=15.6]On Tuesday, a Russian lawmaker visiting Crimea said Moscow would protect the region's Russian-speaking residents, raising concern that Russia could be trying to justify military action.
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[size=15.6]Valentina Matvienko, speaker of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, on Wednesday dismissed claims that Russia could conduct a military operation in Ukraine. 'That scenario is impossible,' she said.[/size]
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD8E77D00000578-624_634x427](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD8E77D00000578-624_634x427.jpg)
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Crimean Tartars were expelled from their homes by Russia during the Second World War and so have a history of bad feeling towards the Kremlin
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD90BF700000578-494_634x410](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD90BF700000578-494_634x410.jpg)
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However Crimea has very close ties with Russia and houses the nation's Black Sea Fleet
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BDA8F4900000578-628_634x433](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BDA8F4900000578-628_634x433.jpg)
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Police had attempted to keep the two group apart but they were unable to stop the fighting
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD3D80100000578-643_634x453](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD3D80100000578-643_634x453.jpg)
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Earlier today, John Kerry and William Hague urged Ukraine to stay unified while asking Russia to allow the country to make its own choices about its future
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BBA08E900000578-706_634x404](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BBA08E900000578-706_634x404.jpg)
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There are fears within the international community that Russian president Putin (pictured here with former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych) could send troops to the country in an attempt to quash the uprising
[size=15.6]'Russia has been stating and reiterating its stance that we have no right and cannot interfere in domestic affairs of a sovereign state,' said Matvienko, a close Putin ally who was born in western Ukraine.
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[size=15.6]'We are for Ukraine as a united state, and there should be no basis for separatist sentiments.'[/size]
[size=15.6]There are fears among the international community that Russian president Vladimir Putin could send armed forced to Ukraine in an attempt to bring the situation under control.[/size]
[size=15.6]In a veiled threat, Mr Hague added that it was not in Russia's interest for Ukraine to go bankrupt as a result of the world turning away from the peace process.[/size]
[size=15.6]Ukrainian officials have already appealed to international leaders for around £20billion worth of loans they say the country needs if it is to avoid going bankrupt.[/size]
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BDA8CFA00000578-878_634x420](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BDA8CFA00000578-878_634x420.jpg)
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Crimean Tartars have an historic grudge with Russia, so support the new revolution sweeping the nation
![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BD0602500000578-834_634x424](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BD0602500000578-834_634x424.jpg)
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John Kerry also urged Russia and other nations to ensure the revolution was '100 per cent' peaceful from now on after nearly 100 people died in clashes
[size=15.6]Mr Kerry said the US was willing to work with Russia and other countries in order to make sure the revolution was '100 per cent peaceful' from now on, after nearly 100 people died in clashes.[/size]
[size=15.6]Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that America would consider sanctions as a way to ensure a stable transition to new government.[/size]
[size=15.6]In the absence of Yanukovych, who is now wanted for mass murder, Olexander Turchynov has stepped in as interim leader of Ukraine while a new government is set up.[/size]
[size=15.6]However the speed of change has created a power vaccum in the country, with armed groups still patrolling the streets.[/size]
AFTER SNIPERS AND PETROL BOMBS, THE NEW THREAT TO THE PEOPLE UKRAINE IS FINANCIAL COLLAPSE ![WAKE UP!! GET FOOD!! GET READY!! IT IS STARTING!! Article-2568206-1BC5BA7A00000578-705_306x423](https://2img.net/h/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/26/article-2568206-1BC5BA7A00000578-705_306x423.jpg)
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Ukraine has just emerged from a bloody revolution, but its problem have only just begun
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As tensions flare between the East and West of Ukraine, and politicians scramble to from a government, a new threat to Ukraine's future has emerged.[/size]
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The country faces financial collapse as international loans dry up.
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The interim president Olexander Turchynov has appealed for £20billion from foreign nations in order to stop the country going bankrupt.[/size]
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And now concerned citizens are withdrawing money from their bank accounts en masse, worried that they will lose everything if the nation goes bust.[/size]
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In just two days from February 18, around £1.8bn was withdrawn from bank accounts across the country.[/size]
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After an agreement to sign a deal introducing a new interim government withdrawals slowed down in the West, but remain high in the East where tensions over Russia's relationship with the country remain high.[/size]
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The interim government is now considering measure to limit cash withdrawals to stop the banks going into meltdown.
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Speaking to Bloomberg, Lilit Gevorgyan, senior economist at IHS Global Insight in London, said: 'Ukraine’s economy needs rescue and that adds pressure on the revolutionary political forces to create a truly national unity government.[/size]
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'The large bailout plan that Ukraine currently seeks won’t be handed out by international donors to a weak and non-inclusive government.'
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2568206/Preparing-war-Putin-orders-immediate-test-troops-combat-readiness-10-000-Muslim-supporters-Ukraine-s-new-government-clash-pro-Russian-group-Crimea.html#ixzz2uRcN1e3K
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