Scary times. This article in today’s Age newspaper Melbourne.

Ukraine puts troops on high alert, threatening war

Soldiers block access to a Ukrainian border guard base near Simferopol. Photo: AFP

Simferopol, Ukraine: Ukraine put its military on high alert on Sunday in response to Russia’s move to seize control of the Crimean peninsula, and it threatened war against Moscow if the Kremlin made further incursions into Ukrainian territory as Western powers scrambled to find a response to the crisis.

“This is the red alert, this is not a threat, this is actually a declaration of war to my country,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said after Russia’s parliament approved the deployment of troops to any part of Ukraine where Moscow deems Russians are in danger. He warned that Ukraine was on the “brink of disaster” and appealed to the international community to stand by Kiev. Click here to read more