Ukraine's Ambassador in Moscow Meets Russian Deputy Minister

MOSCOW — Ukraine's ambassador to Russia and a deputy Russian foreign minister held a "cordial" meeting on Saturday, Moscow said, without giving details of any discussion of Russian-occupied Crimea.
 District Rate Kaski 069-70_

Envoy Vladimir Yelchenko met deputy minister Grigory Karasin, the Russian foreign ministry said, and "issues of Russo-Ukrainian relations were discussed in a cordial atmosphere."

Russia has denounced the overthrow of Ukrainian President President Viktor Yanukovich in mass protests last month as a coup, and declared the country's interim leadership illegitimate.

Russia has seized control of Crimea, a Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula with a Russian-speaking majority, where overnight confrontations between Russian troops and besieged Ukrainian soldiers raised tensions further on Saturday.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Friday that Ukraine was ready for talks with Russia, but Moscow must first withdraw its troops, abide by international agreements and halt its support for "separatists and terrorists."

He said he had requested a second telephone call with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The two premiers spoke on March 1, the only high-level contact between the countries since the crisis began.

New Confrontations Raise Tensions in Crimea as Russians Move In

A convoy of hundreds of Russian soldiers in 50 trucks and eight armored vehicles drove into a base near Crimea's capital Simferopol on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Russian troops reinforced their presence in Crimea overnight Friday as witnesses reported seeing another 200 military vehicles unload in Eastern Crimea, while unidentified soldiers seized a missile defense base, Reuters reported.

"Neither the equipment nor the paratroopers have insignia that identify them as Russian, but we have no doubt as to their allegiance," Selenyov told The Associated Press.

Russia claims its only troops in Crimea are those usually stationed with the Black Sea Fleet, which Washington has dubbed “Putin’s Fiction.” The Pentagon estimates there are about 20,000 Russians in Crimea, while Kiev says there are 30,000.

DARKO VOJINOVIC / AP

A Ukrainian officer stands outside the gate of a military base at the Black Sea port of Sevastopol in Crimea, Ukraine,on March 8, 2014.

Lt. Col. Vitaly Onishchenko, deputy commander of the sieged base, said unmarked soldiers climbed the walls overnight and demanded that 100 Ukrainian troops swear allegiance to Russia.

Meanwhile, Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine’s weeks-old leaders, whom he called puppets.

No shots were fired in the standoff and no one appeared to be hurt, Reuters reported.

"Things are difficult and the atmosphere has got worse. The Russians threaten us when we go and get food supplies and point their guns at us," said Vadim Filipenko, the Ukrainian deputy commander at the base.

The show of force on Friday night was one of the largest since Russian military forces appeared in Crimea a week ago, according to the AP.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attained parliamentary approval to invade Ukraine one week ago. Crimea’s pro-Russian leadership decided Thursday that it is part of Russia and set a March 16 secession referendum for voters.

Two Listed on Missing Jet Had Passports Stolen, Were Not on Plane

Two people listed as passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet were not on the plane and had their passports stolen, according to foreign governments and one relative.

Luigi Maraldi, 37, was the only Italian on a passenger manifest released by the airline after the jet disappeared over the South China Sea.

But his father, Walter Maraldi, told NBC News from Cesena, Italy: “Luigi called us early this morning to reassure us he was fine, but we didn’t know about the accident. Thank God he heard about it before us.”

The Associated Press quoted the Italian foreign ministry as confirming that account.

An Austrian was also on the passenger manifest, but Reuters and The Associated Press both quoted the Austrian foreign ministry as saying that he was safe in Austria. The ministry said that his passport was also stolen.

Both foreign ministries said that the passports were reported stolen in Thailand, the AP reported.