Ukraine tells UN that Russia's annexation of Crimea is a threat to many other countries
The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Vladimir Elchenko, has said that the ongoing militarization of Crimea threatens not only the Black Sea region, but other countries as well.
"The illegal occupation and subsequent militarization of Crimea is not just a threat with long-term consequences for the Black Sea region, southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. Events in Syria are proof of this," he said during a speech at the open debate of the UN Security Council on the observance of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
"Particularly threatening is the deployment of potential carriers of nuclear warheads on board ships and combat aircraft. Another threat is Russia's intention to renovate the infrastructure of facilities for the storage of nuclear weapons, which have been left in Crimea since the era of the Soviet Union," Elchenko said. He added that Russia has deployed "more than 23,000 people, hundreds of battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and dozens of coastal systems of fire" in Crimea.