Armed Russians Stole Lighthouses in Ukraine

Moscow will ignore a Ukrainian court order to return Crimean lighthouses used by the Russian naval fleet to Ukraine, Russia's "ambassador" said.

A court in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol ruled in September that 22 lighthouses and other navigational devices held by the Russian Black Sea fleet must be returned to the control of Ukraine's Transport Ministry. The ruling cannot be appealed. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry followed it up with an official note to Russia demanding their return.

Asked if Russia would comply, Russian "ambassador", a war criminal from the Russian-Chechen War, Chernomyrdin, said no.

Russia has argued that the court's decision purportedly violated a 1997 agreement that divided the Soviet Union's Black Sea fleet between Russia and Ukraine. Under that agreement, the Russian navy was allowed to remain in Sevastopol until 2017, paying only a miserable annual rent of US million (€73 million). Ukraine insists the lighthouses - scattered along the coast of the Crimean peninsula - were not part of the deal, the AP reported.

The presence of Russia's armed gangs on Ukrainian territory has sparked anger among common Ukrainians, and given rise to a number of disputes between Ukraine and the bandit state of Russia.

Dmitriy Orlov