The illegal invasion of Crimea continues under the iron fist of Vladimir Putin. The first serious military action between Ukraine and Russia occurred yesterday when machine guns and stun grenades were used by Russian soldiers as they ended the siege at Belbek military airport in a brutal show of power. The commander of the base, Colonel Yuli Manchur, who led his men in defying repeated demands for surrender, was arrested and taken away – by Putin thugs no doubt.

THIS, from the VOA:

KYIV — Russian soldiers and militiamen stormed a Ukrainian air force base in Crimea on Saturday, firing shots and smashing through gates and walls with armored vehicles, ending a lengthy standoff with Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian troops had been resisting Russian pressure to surrender arms and vacate Belbek airbase after Moscow officially declared the annexation of Crimea on Friday, following a controversial referendum.

Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a truce on military actions with a Friday deadline; Kyiv had agreed to withdraw all military forces from Crimea, but Russia apparently preferred to take action.

Russian soldiers without insignias broke into Belbek airbase facing no apparent resistance from Ukrainian troops, many of whom turned their backs on the Russian forces and sang the Ukrainian national anthem as events unfolded.

For days, Ukrainian soldiers at Belbek had refused to abandon their posts, saying they had received no orders from the interim government in Kyiv.

Ukrainian defense officials say at least one Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the siege. Some reporters and cameramen covering the takeover were roughed up by Russian solders and had their equipment seized, including those working for VOA.

Belbek is the last major military holdout against the Russian takeover of Crimea, as most Ukrainian defenses across the peninsula had already been overrun, with many troops vacating their posts or joining up with Russian forces.

The siege followed an ultimatum issued by Russian forces earlier in the day that called for Ukrainian troops at the base to surrender. Belbek also shares facilities with the international airport in Sevastopol, where Russia has a large naval base.

Clearly, Ukrainian Base Commander Manchur and his soldiers demonstrated much courage standing in the face of the Russians. But brave standoffs like theirs or puny sanctions by the US and EU will not remove Crimea from Russia’s hold. That’s over.

Putin is now setting the rules on aggressively invading countries while our leaders – acting shocked and outraged – have simply no clue about our enemies. While we look indecisive and confused, Putin looks confident and calculating – a direct response to our weak foreign policy.

So, watch out Eastern Europe! Start refusing visa’s to Russian citizens or you will be next on Russia’s “protection list“. Putin evidently wants confrontation, if not war, as he moves to rebuild the 21st century version of the USSR. All of this, as the rest of the world downplays Putin’s aggression or acts like a sniveling bunch of cowards. These are very dangerous time.

Our “Weekend Links” are below the fold!