Russia has reportedly given Ukraine an ultimatum — surrender the Crimean peninsula by early Tuesday morning or face a full-on military assault across that strategically important peninsula.
The exact wording of the warning varies by news outlet, most likely because of differences in translations:
— "Russia Delivers 'Assault Storm' Deadline." (Sky News)
— "Russia has issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in the Crimea to clear out by 5 a.m. Tuesday or face a 'military storm.' " (CNN)
— "Surrender or Face 'Storm,' Russia Reportedly Tells Ukraine." (NBC News)
The headlines stem from a report by Russia's InterFax news agency, part of which is here. InterFax, in turn, says it's citing Ukrainian defense ministry sources.
As always in situations such as this when news is breaking and accounts may vary, we'll keep an eye out for changes in the story.
Meanwhile, "Russia's foreign minister said Monday that the decision to dispatch troops to Ukraine is not an act of aggression, but a measure aimed at protecting human rights and Russian citizens," RIA Novosti reports.
Diplomats from the U.S., U.K. and other nations say, however, that Russia has trampled on the sovereign rights of another nation by sending its forces into Crimea after Ukraine's pro-Russian president was removed from office by his nation's parliament.
Up to now, there have been no reports of shots fired or confrontations involving troops as Russian forces have moved to surround Ukrainian military bases and occupy other strategic places in Crimea.
Earlier, we posted about how:
"With Russian forces now effectively in control on the Crimean peninsula, there's an ominous question on the minds of people around the world:
"Will President Vladimir Putin go further — sending his troops into other parts of Ukraine?"