Bus service from Krasnodar suspended in Crimea

(InterFax) Feb. 28, 2014 - Delivery of passengers to Odessa through Rostov-on-Don. "Movement in Crimea until closed, another bus to Odessa recovering today at 20:05 via Rostov," - said in a reference. Bus service to the cities of Crimea, as well as with Odessa from Krasnodar was carried out through the port customs post "Caucasus" and the ferry across the Kerch Strait.

Earlier, some media reported the closure of the Strait of Kerch ferry.  In particular, there were reports that the closure of this transport route is initiated by the Ukrainian side, and therefore canceled bus services from the cities of Krasnodar Region of the Russian Federation in Simferopol, Kerch, Feodosia, Yalta, Sevastopol, Odessa and Tiraspol.

Бельбек - Bel'bek in southwestern Crimea

Russian military surround Ukrainian border guard post in Crimea

BALAKLAVA, Ukraine (Reuters) Feb 28, 2014 - At least 20 men wearing the uniform of Russia's Black Sea fleet and carrying automatic rifles surrounded a Ukrainian border guard post, in a tense standoff near the port city of Sevastopol in Ukraine's Crimea region.

A Reuters reporter in the Balaklava district saw Ukrainian border police in helmets and riot gear shut inside the border post, with a metal gate pulled shut and metal riot shields placed behind the windows as protection.

A servicemen who identified himself as an officer of the Black Sea Fleet told Reuters: "We are here ... so as not to have a repeat of the Maidan." He was referring to Kiev's Independence Square, the cradle of a popular uprising that ousted President Viktor Yanukovich.

The servicemen's presence appeared to confirm the veracity of a statement by the Ukrainian border guard service that Russian servicemen were blocking off a unit of Ukrainian border guards in Balaklava.