(5 Mar 2014) The crews of two Ukrainian naval ships at dock in the port city of Sevastopol in the Crimea region of the country armed themselves on Wednesday as tensions between Ukraine and Russia continued to grow.
A Ukrainian military spokesman said on Tuesday that the corvette Ternopil and the command ship Slavutych were being blocked by four Russian navy ships in Sevastopol's harbour, in a standoff which has lasted over a week.
A supposed Russian ultimatum on Tuesday for the two Ukrainian warships to surrender or be seized passed without action from either side,
The crews of the two ships had kept their arms locked away since being blocked in the port, but revised this stance when a group of security forces arrived on Wednesday morning.
The troops would not identify which country they represented, but they were widely believed to be Russian soldiers.
As well as taking up arms, crews of both ships fastened mattresses to the railings around the ships in order to prevent hooks and lines being used to board them.
They also readied water canon to repel assault and have been testing them periodically.
Despite these measures, an officer aboard the Slavutych, believed to be the second-in-command said on Wednesday the crews were "expecting the political leaders of our countries to find a political consensus and believe that everything will be fine."
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