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A Russian armored vehicle on Saturday (March 22) attempted to enter Belbek Airbase in Crimea where Ukrainian forces are resisting handing over control. Russian troops had surrounded the Ukrainian airbase and issued an ultimatum to forces inside to surrender, the deputy commander of the base in Belbek, near Sevastopol, said on Saturday.
The Base, above which the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag was flying, is one of the few military facilities on Crimea still controlled by Ukraine after the annexation of the peninsula by Russian forces.
The ultimatum was due to expire at 1230 GMT.
The Russian takeover of the Black Sea peninsula has been largely bloodless, though one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and two others wounded in a shooting in Simferopol earlier this week.
Ukraine's Defence Ministry said on Friday Crimea's bases were still formally under Ukrainian control, but most are now occupied by Russian troops and fly Russia's
