Ukraine: Gunmen carrying Russian flags seize Crimean airport.

Interfax-Ukraine reported on February 28 that approximately 50 gunmen seized the airport in Simferopo, the capital of the Crimean Peninsula, just one day after pro-Russian militias took over the parliament and administrative buildings of the autonomous region of Ukraine.

Witnesses said that gunmen carrying Russian flags seized the airport on the night of February 27th, traveling in several trucks.

Clashes between pro-Kiev supporters and pro-Russian gunmen in Crimea (Source: RIA)

Representatives of Ukraine's interim government are also believed to have flown to the predominantly Russian-speaking peninsula today, February 28.

The Crimean government building remains under the control of pro-Russian militias following clashes between the group and Tartar fighters.

These clashes erupted after the coup in Kyiv that overthrew President Viktor Yanukovych, who was supported by the Russian-speaking ethnic community.

In Crimea, clashes have also been taking place in recent days between supporters of the pro-Western interim government and ethnic Russians, raising concerns about the risk of division in this Eastern European country.

On February 27, Russia also placed units along its western border on combat readiness, while Ukraine's interim President Oleksandr Turchnov declared that the Russian Black Sea Fleet's movement from its base in Sevastopol, in accordance with a previous agreement between the two countries, amounted to an act of aggression.

According to VNA