Ukrainian PM Warns: 'We Are On The Brink Of Disaster'

Photo Credit: Getty, APIgniting a tense standoff, Russian forces surrounded a Ukrainian army base Sunday just as the country began mobilizing its military in response to the surprise Russian takeover of the Crimean Peninsula.

Outrage over Russia’s tactics mounted in world capitals, with Secretary of State John Kerry calling on President Vladimir Putin to pull back from “an incredible act of aggression.” Fearing that Europe’s borders were being rewritten by force, world leaders rushed to find a diplomatic solution to reverse what had already happened on the ground: Russia had captured the Black Sea peninsula on Saturday without firing a shot.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said there was no reason for Russia to invade Ukraine and warned: “We are on the brink of disaster.”

“We believe that our western partners and the entire global community will support the territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine,” he said Sunday in Kiev.

NATO held an emergency meeting in Brussels, Britain’s foreign minister flew to Kiev to support its new government and the U.S., France and Britain debated the possibility of boycotting the next Group of Eight economic summit, being held in June at Sochi, the host of Russia’s successful Winter Olympics.