The two Ural trucks, full of troops, arrived under cover of darkness and a thick blanket of fog at the Ukrainian missile defense base outside Sevastopol late Friday night, and rammed their way through the gates. Once inside, the Russian troops fanned out and screamed that they would shoot to kill if the Ukrainians did not surrender.

After some brief tussles the situation was calmed and the Russians eventually left, their trucks racing out of the base.

Outside, members of a local "self-defense" volunteer unit harassed journalists, and the deputy commander of the base briefly appeared to give comments.