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Russian Forces Seize Crimean Border Guard Post

<p>Russian forces now control 11 border guard posts in Crimea, a base spokesman said.</p>
Image: Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, march outside an Ukrainian military base in the village of Perevalnoye
Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, march outside an Ukrainian military base in the village of Perevalnoye near the Crimean city of Simferopol March 9, 2014. A spokesman for a base in Chernomorskoye said that one was also seized overnight. THOMAS PETER / Reuters

KIEV — Russian forces took control of a Ukrainian border guard post in western Crimea on Sunday, trapping about 30 personnel inside, a border guard spokesman said.

He said by telephone that the Chernomorskoye base on the western edge of the Back Sea peninsula had been taken over without bloodshed at around 6 a.m.

The spokesman, Oleh Slobodyan, said Russian forces now controlled 11 border guard posts in Crimea.

Russian forces' seizure of the southern Ukrainian region, which began 11 days ago, has been bloodless. Ukrainian troops are trapped in a number of bases but have offered no armed resistance.