Abandoned military hospital in Balaklava, Crimea

Balaklava is a town on the southwestern coast of the Crimean peninsula. Administratively it is a part of Sevastopol city but in fact Balaklava is separated from the rest of Sevastopol by a few kilometers of undeveloped area.

Today Balaklava is a popular Crimean resort. Tourists are attracted by the town with long history and numerous monuments, spectacular cliffs and beaches. Source

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March 4, 2014

The United States took another punitive measure against Russia Tuesday, announcing it would not participate in a G8 Summit scheduled for Sochi in June unless Moscow reversed course on Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The move followed an hour-long phone conversation between President Obama and West German Chancellor Angela Merkel that senior administration officials told Fox News focused on trying to construct a diplomatic off-ramp to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.

The White House released a statement saying the two leaders “agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation, including through the deployment international observers and human rights monitors, and of initiating direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.”

The U.S. will boycott the Sochi G8 summit unless Moscow reverses its position on Ukraine, Reuters quoted a senior administration official as saying.

Officials acknowledged to Fox News that Europeans are skeptical of sanctions against Russia that may harm European economies, but these allies are also concerned that without sanctions, the situation in Ukraine could escalate.

Pressed on any potential military action if Putin takes more territory, the officials said they still see no scenario involving military action of any kind

Earlier Tuesday, at a press conference, Putin insisted that none of his troops had moved into Crimea — a statement that stunned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

When informed by a reporter of Putin’s claim, Kerry — who arrived in Kiev on Tuesday — smiled and said, “He really denied there were troops in Crimea?”

Putin’s claim came as Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said that ministers from his country and their Russian counterparts have started holding talks in a bid to ease tensions on the disputed Crimean Peninsula. FOX News and AP ^

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Soooooo…we can’t throw Russia out – Sooooo…. we throw ourselves out. heh