The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine ordered the detention of the commander of the country's Navy, Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky, accused of high treason. reports, the new Prosecutor General Oleg Makhnitsky announced this As Gazeta.ua on Hromadske.TV .

As noted, “special units carrying out operational investigative activities” were entrusted with detaining Berezovsky.

Let us recall that the commander of the Ukrainian Navy publicly swore allegiance to the “Crimean people” on March 2. He made the corresponding statement in the presence of journalists and the new Prime Minister of Crimea, leader of Russian Unity Sergei Aksenov. The head of government, in turn, said that the peninsula was creating its own military fleet and that Denis Berezovsky would command it.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine responded by opening a criminal case against Berezovsky, accusing him of treason. The interim president of the country, Alexander Turchinov, also ordered his removal from office (it should be noted that Turchinov himself had previously appointed Berezovsky to the post of commander of the Navy).

In this regard, Sergei Gaiduk was appointed acting commander of the Navy. Opponents of his appointment in Sevastopol staged protests near the Navy headquarters building. At the same time, Gaiduk stated that Berezovsky, after his oath to the “Crimean people,” spoke to his subordinates, but the personnel, as the acting assures. commander, “remained on the side of the people of Ukraine.”

The leadership of Crimea, we recall, refused to recognize the recent change of power in Ukraine (the actual change of power in the country occurred in mid-February, after armed clashes in Kyiv, the transfer of the Verkhovna Rada to the control of the opposition and the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych). The head of the Crimean government announced the temporary subordination of all law enforcement agencies to him. He called on the military not to obey the orders of “self-proclaimed bodies and officials of Ukraine.”

There are conflicting data regarding what forces the Crimean authorities currently have at their disposal. The regional administration claims that more than five thousand military personnel, border guards and internal troops have already gone over to the side of the Crimean people, and that “all units of the border service, internal troops, three air defense regiments and two air bases” are under the jurisdiction of the local authorities. Kyiv denies this. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine claims, in particular, that not a single military unit in Crimea has come under the control of local authorities.

The Prime Minister of Crimea also addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request for help in ensuring peace in the region. Soon after this, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation authorized the use of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, Vladimir Putin, speaking at a press conference on March 4, said that there is no need to use troops yet.

The prosecutor's office ordered the detention of a rear admiral who swore allegiance to Crimea