Kiev: Ukraine moved on Thursday to mobilise a volunteer force to ward off Russia’s expansionist threat as Berlin warned Moscow of long term damage to its economy and EU relations over the Crimea crisis.
The Verkhovna Rada Parliament unanimously backed the creation of a new force of up to 60,000 volunteers who could keep Russian troops from advancing beyond the Crimean peninsula they seized at the start of the month.
The dramatic decision to bolster Ukraine’s defences with people outside the army came shortly after US President Barack Obama threw his full weight behind Ukraine's new pro-European leaders in their Cold War style standoff with the Kremlin.
National security and defence council chief Andriy Parubiy said the new National Guard would “ensure state security, defend the borders, and eliminate terrorist groups”, a term many in Kiev use to call the well armed militias who patrol Crimea alongside Russian troops.
Ukraine’s conventional army of 1,30,000 soldiers is conscripted with ageing equipment The flaring crisis on the eastern edge of Europe was sparked by the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych after several days of protests in Kiev.
