Legal or not, Russia supporters in Crimea look forward to referendum
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- NATO said Monday it plans to send airborne warning and control system reconnaissance planes over Poland and Romania to monitor Russian forces in Ukraine.
Russia invaded the section known as Crimea more than a week ago, and plans to hold a referendum on Crimea joining the Russian Federation next Sunday.
It's not a celebration yet, but pro-Russian demonstrators in Crimea feel that victory is just around the corner.
At the local Crimean government offices, they're drawing up a list of polling stations for the referendum.
"How can I prove that to you?" he said. "But my hands are clean."
Russian forces and paramilitaries have now seized most of the Crimea's border posts.
Ukrainian soldiers and sailors still loyal to Kiev are cut off with no prospect of reinforcements.
Last week, one Ukrainian warship crew had attached mattresses to their vessels to repel Russian soldiers in the event of an attack. They've taken down the mattresses now.
"Well, we realized the Russians wouldn't attack," said one naval officer.
"We'll do it in," the officer said. "A few sailors at a time."
But they will probably be outvoted by people like Tanya Ismeeva, who sells souvenirs to supplement her pension of $100 a month.
If Crimea joins Russia, she says, her pension will grow quite a bit.
"Three or for times as much," she said.
She's not alone. Hundreds of thousands of Crimeans believe life would be better with Moscow in charge. If the United States and Europe say their referendum is illegal, they simply won't care.
There is a deep historical and emotional tie to Russia in Crimea. People will say, "Look, we may have been Ukrainian for a few brief decades, but we've been Russian for more than 200 years."
