KIEV, Ukraine — The besieged new government of Ukraine accused Russian forces of a major escalation in pressure over control of the Crimea on Monday night, saying the Russians had demanded that Ukrainian forces there surrender within hours or face armed assault. Russia denied it had issued any ultimatum.
The Interfax-Ukrainian news agency quoted an unidentified Ukrainian Defense ministry official as saying Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander had set a deadline of 5 a.m. Tuesday — 10 p.m. Monday Eastern time — for Ukrainian forces stationed in Crimea to lay down their weapons. But Russia’s Interfax news agency said the Black Sea Fleet had no such plans.
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The conflicting reports only further served to worsen tensions in the Ukraine crisis, which has grown drastically in scope within the past few weeks to a new confrontation between Russia and the West reminiscent of low points in the Cold War. It was clear that Russia was strengthening its hold on the Crimean peninsula as more pro-Russia demonstrations were gripping the big cities of Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
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The speaker of Russia’s parliament said on television that Russia does not yet need use its “right” to launch further military action in Ukraine. “This right can be used in case it is necessary,” said the speaker, Sergei Naryshkin. “But currently is not necessary.”
European Union foreign ministers met in emergency session in Brussels to discuss possible punitive steps against Russia unless it pulled its troops back to its own bases in Crimea, including suspension of talks with Moscow on visa liberalization. But France and Germany said that sanctions were not on the table, urging dialogue with Russia first.
The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that “crisis diplomacy is not a weakness but it will be more important than ever to not fall into the abyss of military escalation,” an indication that the Europeans would not agree on significant action. Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans told reporters that “sanctions are not in order today but sanctions will become inevitable” if there is no change in Russia’s position.
Visiting the new government in Kiev, British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Russia to pull back its forces in Crimea or face “significant costs,” echoing comments made by President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, who was due here on Tuesday.
Mr. Hague also emphasized diplomacy. “The world cannot just allow this to happen,” he told the BBC. “The world cannot say it’s O.K. in effect to violate the sovereignty of another nation in this way.”
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The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, responded that Russia was only protecting its interests and those of Russian citizens in Ukraine. In a Geneva speech, Mr. Lavrov broke from his text to say: “Those who try to interpret the situation as an act of aggression, threaten us with sanctions and boycotts, are the same partners who have been consistently and vigorously encouraging the political powers close to them to declare ultimatums and renounce dialogue, to ignore the concerns of the south and east of Ukraine, and consequently to the polarization of the Ukrainian society.”
The use of Russian troops is necessary “until the normalization of the political situation” in Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov said at an opening of a monthlong session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. “We are talking here about protection of our citizens and compatriots, about protection of the most fundamental of the human rights — the right to live, and nothing more.” But he did not specify what threats Russian citizens faced from Ukraine.
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At the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Security Council was scheduled to meet Monday afternoon, at Russia’s request — the third meeting since Friday. At each, Russia has been sharply criticized by Western members. At one point, the British ambassador to the United Nations, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, said Russia had provided no justification for its military actions. The United States ambassador, Samantha Power, urged Russia to “stand down,” and recommended a fact-finding mission by either the United Nations or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Russia holds veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council, so it was unclear what the Security Council could do.
With the new Kiev government confronted with the loss of Crimea and a worsening economic situation, a team from the International Monetary Fund was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday for a 10-day investigation of the true state of Ukraine’s finances. The government has said that it is prepared to take difficult economic reform measures if necessary to secure a stabilization loan from the fund.
Moscow suspended its offer of bond purchases when President Viktor F. Yanukovych was ousted more than a week ago.
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