Protesters storm Ukraine military base in west Crimea

About 200 pro-Russian protesters today stormed a Ukrainian air force base in western Crimea.

The unarmed crowd yelling "Russia! Russia!" broke through to the base in the town of Novofedorivka and started smashing windows as Ukrainian servicemen barricaded themselves inside buildings and threw smoke bombs at the intruders from the roof, AFP correspondents saw.

Some of the people threw the smoke bombs back at the soldiers.

Russian officers stood outside watching as the protesters took down the Ukrainian flag and put up the white and blue flag of the Russian navy.

"Why don't you say anything?" a Ukrainian soldier yelled to the Russian officers from the roof. "It is my unit and I have to protect it!"

A Russian military officer then went inside the building to negotiate with the Ukrainians as the crowd of protesters were told to leave.

The spokesman of the Ukraine defence ministry in Crimea, Vladislav Seleznyov, cited sources at the base as saying that the soldiers have retreated into the headquarters building.

"There are some locals among the attackers, but a lot of non-locals. We do not recognise these faces," the source from the base said, according to Seleznyov.