Russia will boost its military presence in Crimea to protect against external threats, state news agency Itar-Tass quoted Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov as saying yesterday as lawmakers voted to annex the Ukrainian region.
“It will be necessary to develop the military infrastructure on the peninsula so that Crimea would be a worthy representative of the Russian Federation and be protected against all possible encroachments,” he said.
Russia is the world’s third largest military spender behind the United States and China and plans to spend 20 trillion roubles ($556.84 billion) by 2020 to revamp its armed forces, a target Borisov said Russia would not sacrifice.
He gave no immediate details, but boosting Russia’s military presence would probably entail combining its current Black Sea Fleet facilities with Ukrainian bases where Russian troops have taken control.
Putin tells Russian businessmen to bring their assets back home
The Black Sea Fleet is made up of 40 combat ships, 28 of which are on active duty while others undergo modernisation, according to US-based analyst Dmitry Gorenburg.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukrainian soldiers left outside the bases taken over by Russian troops would be able to choose whom to serve.
“All Ukrainian servicemen on the territory of Crimea have been proposed a free choice – either leave the territory of Crimea or... stay in Crimea and serve in the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation,” he said, speaking at Parliament.
Meanwhile also yesterday President Vladimir Putin told company bosses to bring their assets home and clean up their businesses to help Russia survive Western sanctions over Crimea and an economic downturn.
Facing a possible widening of Western sanctions that may target businessmen close to Putin, some of Russia’s oligarchs are increasingly nervous about their companies’ prospects.
Some of Russia’s largest companies are registered abroad where they may benefit from lower tax rates but also may enjoy some distance from the Kremlin and feel beyond its reach.
Without referring to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region or to slowing economic growth, Putin said it would also be in the bosses’ interests to support the Russian economy.
“Russian companies should be registered on the territory of our nation, in our country and have a transparent ownership structure,” Putin told heads of Russia’s largest companies.
“I am certain that this is also in your interests,” he said, pressing home a patriotic message at a conference full of businessmen, including a front row of top oligarchs.