the State Department

The State Department: The State Department said that Washington would hold Moscow directly accountable for such an escalation but did not elaborate on potential consequences. Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, however, that she could not confirm if Russia had in fact made such threats. An armed man, believed to be a Russian soldier, stands outside the civilian port in the Crimean town of Kerch. The words read: "Port Crimea". Thomas Peter/Reuters , according to CBC. Four Russian navy ships in Sevastopol harbour were blocking the Ukrainian anti-submarine warship Ternopil and the command ship Slavutych from leaving the dock, waiting for their commanders' responses, spokesman Maksim Prauta said. The Obama administration said Monday that any Russian threat to Ukraine's navy would be a "dangerous escalation" of an extremely tense situation. Earlier Monday, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Russia had issued an ultimatum to the crews of two Ukrainian warships in Crimea, demanding that they immediately surrender or be stormed and seized. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.