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Breaking news out of Ukraine... A group of armed men have reportedly seized
control of the main government building on Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
The incident comes less a day after Moscow ordered surprise military exercises near the
Ukraine-Russia border. Our Paul Yi reports. Eyewitnesses say some
30 fully armed men ran inside Crimea's government headquarters early Thursday, kicking out police
officers and then raising a Russian flag prominently on the building's rooftop.
After taking over the building in the regional capital Simferopol, another large group of
people arrived by bus and entered the site reportedly carrying heavy weapons.
It's still unclear who the group is as they have yet to make any public demands, only
posting a sign reading "Crimea is Russia." But witnesses say they spoke Russian and appeared
to be military separatists.
"Those were 100 percent soldiers, because police officers or anybody else wouldn't just...
they are paratroopers, Russian paratroopers, or whatever they call themselves."
Ukrainian security forces have been put on high alert and the local government has said
it is negotiating with the armed men who remain barricaded inside.
No one has reportedly been hurt and all civilians were released from the building.
Tensions in Crimea have been sharply rising following the ousting of President Viktor
Yanukovych last week and recent orders from Moscow to launch military exercises near the
Ukrainian border.
It comes as Kiev is in the midst of a shaky transition.
The interim leadership announced Wednesday its line-up for a new cabinet ... and parliamentary
deputies are voting for a new national unity government to lead the country until snap
elections in May.
The Maidan Council -- Kiev's main protest camp -- has proposed Arseny Yatseniuk,...
a former economy minister,... as prime minister. He said the country was on the brink of disaster
and that the government will have to take extremely unpopular steps to revive an economy
battered by months of political unrest.
Paul Yi, Arirang News.