where this is the journal coming to you live from berlin. coming up, tensions escalate. pro-russian forces tighten their grip. moscow is accused of declaring war on ukraine. condemnation from the west. john kerry accuses russia of an act of aggression. anotherlls in kia after day of demonstration. ukrainians wave international eyes in protest. russia tightens its grip on the crimea. ♪

ukraine is on the brink of disaster. that is the stark message from the interim prime minister. russia's moves to take control crimea amount to a declaration of war. his government is calling up all of its military reserves and appealing for help. waskraine mobilizes, there another massive anti-russian rally in kiev. they echoed calls for international support. they also heard from the president of georgia in 2008 when they fought a brief war with russia. the most recent developments, ukraine's new government has sacked the head of the navy one day after appointing him and charged him with treason. he was shown on russian television reading out a

statement in which he store -- swore allegiance to pro-russia forces. he has surrendered his headquarters in so the stopple -- sevastopol. we will correspondent and russia. we have this report on ukraine. soldiers wearing uniforms without insignia in his army raise -- based near crimea. they black ukrainians older from entering or leaving the ground. chapelt from a nearby came to bless the ukrainian soldiers. the two sides had reached an agreement to avoid what shed. -- bloodshed. >> we are hoping for a compromise. our commander has said that there will be no war. kiev, the ukrainian prime

minister but all armed forces on highest alert. i is a direct alert. this is not the threat. this is actually the declaration of war to my country. putin to pullent and to sticktary to the international obligation and bilateral agreement that was --ned between you and ukraine and russia. >> there have been mixed reactions to the military standoff. by the russian soldiers are standing around peacefully. they are protecting our rights. i think it is normal. they come to take our land. >> they've fitted russians and ukrainians against each other.

we, the people, are not responsible for this. is our leaders. people with those jobs. >> for the moment, the situation appears to be calm. both sides know that they are features that close to war. >> we are standing by in the crimean capital. the navy chief has sworn allegiance to crimea. what more can you tell us about that? is this the tip of the iceberg? >> it might be. the prime minister has made a short statement today saying that he is under the command of the pro-russian prime minister crimea. he will do everything he can to protect crimea and is people. aboutnot know everything his motivation.

there have been reports throughout the day that the ukraine and the ukrainian soldiers are willing to quit, go home. they are willing to switch sides. ukraine cost millions -- ministry of defense has denied those reports. they might follow the example of the navy commander. >> you are at the scene of the standoff. what can you tell us about what you saw? situation can be described as a war of nerves. it is between russian soldiers and the ukrainian forces. the russians have brought dozens of military vehicles. there at the ukrainian army base. they are there to stay.

on the other side, isaiah ukrainian soldiers and many of them were very young and ill-equipped. they were not very experienced. they were standing behind gates and looking at the russian troops. my impression is that ukrainian soldiers were scared. they were frightened. >> thank you for joining us. thank you for that report. pressure is mounting from the west. john kerry called the russian military an incredible act of aggression. he warned moscow that they could lose their membership in the group of eight nations. they may have economics options -- sanctions. there was a crisis meeting in brussels. -- heto chief warned that

urged russia to stop its military activity and threats against the ukraine. let's go now to brussels for more on nato's emergence the talks -- emergency talks. general ross newson is expected to the to the press. had a press meeting earlier today where he was very licit in condemning -- explicit in condemning russian actions. he said it was a violation of international treaties. the ukraine commission is holding its own meetings. we do not know if they will call officially for nato to draw contingent plans for military involvement. nato and ukraine are very close. ukraine was once a member of nato. they have been involved in several nato missions in afghanistan and her cup. several nato members share a border with ukraine.

at the same time, there is not really a willingness by nato to get involved militarily. no one wants an open conflict with russia. too much is at stake. we have one of the diplomatic channels to build pressure on russia. we are trying to stop this action. >> foreign ministers are set to meet tomorrow. inthere is a high interest not risking open conflict of russia. if you look at the situation in , oneo -- european union third come from russia. there are strong economic ties. they do not want to risk that russia will not stop at the crimea. nobody wants that. russell's is overwhelmed with what is happening. there are emergency meetings after emergency meetings. i thank you for joining us from

brussels. russian military action won the unanimous backing of the parliament. what do ordinary russians think? we have a report. people couple hundred gathered outside the defense ministry in moscow. this woman demands, don't send our children to fight our brothers. >> i do not think we need to send in troops to protect our own interests. crimean have to decide their own fate. they have to decide what side they want to join. there will be elections. >> 40 of the peaceful protesters were arrested. russians are divided over how to respond to the conflict. really hope there will not be a war between ukraine and russia. everyone will take the time to

think this through and decide. >> others back president vladimir putin. he says he has a duty to protect crimea's russian population. >> putin has done the right thing. there are a lot of russians in the ukraine. 60% of the population is russian. the conflict escalates, we must use force. we must show that we will protect russia. >> well-done, fulton. demonstrated that he can remain calm. well done. >> the opposition in russia has remained largely silent on the issue. jailed high-profile activist. >> our correspondent joint is on the line from moscow.

you are at a pro-kremlin protest today. what were your impressions? >> there was a large crowd. more than 10,000 people. nationalists.sian they were chanting. [inaudible] they hold the security forces in ukraine responsible for the deaths of protesters. not feel that russian soldiers should be on the ground in ukraine. they said they are convinced that the lives of russian and ukraine -- russia needs to help ukraine and set things right. repeating whaty

had been on russian tv four days. how russiawonder whenever think it possible to prevent itself -- present itself as a modern and open country during the olympics. it is a very different country today. there were people at the rally -- theyed like they were teachers were told to come here by their superiors. it was very organized. >> as we heard earlier, john kerry says that russia could face brees economic is. -- serious economic consequences. is moscow listening? >> it does not seem that they are really concerned. the state media is doing announcements.

clear thatt quite the political elites and the state media think that there's a double standard. the west should not interfere with russian interests. they think there is hypocrisy. syria.nt to interfere in they should not tell rush out what to do. president putin has not said anything in public. he is known to think that the west -- [inaudible] he does not think any serious sanctions will happen. no one in russia thinks that there should be open military conflict over ukraine. >> thank you for that update from moscow. keep you updated on all the latest developments from ukraine. now we will move on to sports. we have two results from soccer

in sunday's first game. we have seen the best performance of the year. 6-2. preferred scored late -- frank frankfurt scored late, 2-1. awards have been announced. the worst picture award went to movie 43. critics say that it pushed tastelessness to a new low. smithactor went to will and his son jaden smith for their science fiction flop. as we have said, we will follow all the latest developments from ukraine. you can join us at the top of the hour for the latest news. thanks for being with us.

>> events in ukraine dominated the news. on monday, there was a decision to issue an arrest warrant for ousted president viktor yanukovych. he is wanted for mass murder following the death of thousands of antigovernment protesters. -- top cap priority priority, it was to draw an emergency plan for the economy. catherine ashton visited to you -- kiev and promised financial aid as long as ukraine supports new reforms.

there was no beast on the legality of recent events in ukraine. >> strictly speaking, there is no one to talk to their. the government does not exist. >> the divisions between pro-european and pro-russian forces became increasingly apparent. especially in the crimea region. pro-russian demonstrators clashed with supporters of the new administration in kiev. in crimea population is russian. russia announced a major military maneuver along at order with the ukraine. it was a standard exercise. the flexing of military muscles was clearly designed to send a message to kiev. >> a moscow has sentenced activist you present for taking part in demonstrations.

the group are accused of promoting violence against the state. they received sentences of up to four years. outside the courtroom, protesters were arrested by police. they arrested almost 400 people. they also arrested two members riot."punk band "pussy the european union has said that the responses proportionate. -- the response is disproportionate. a bill was passed by parliament in december. the signing triggered international condemnation. allows licenses for homosexuals and obliges people to report gays to the police. many ugandan support the law. >> german chancellor angela merkel was in israel this week with her entire government. they had two days of joint

cabinet meetings. the two governments said that they had much in common and voice concern over iraq's nuclear program. said that theyahu example of israel and germany's friendship offers hope for the rest of the world. >> i think we provide an example for how despite the horrors of the past, that we can never forget, we strive for our two twole -- we strive as people to change our relationship into a unique and constructive venture. glad the two countries do not agree on everything. israeli settlements remain a major sticking point. angela merkel said that that could hold back the peace process. -- she saidor an eu that calls for an eu boycott of israeli products go too far. >> that will not promote the peace process.

negotiations are the way forward. >> she was later prevented -- presented with israel's highest civilian honor. germany will offer consular services to israelis in countries where israel has no diplomatic relations. inturkey's prime minister one came under -- he came under increased pressure due to perceived corruption. there are tapes depicting conversations between the prime minister and his son. they discussed hiding millions of dollars in cash from turkish investigators. the recordingsat were fake. fabricated inere an attempt to destabilize his government. they triggered fresh protests. 's government has been fighting allegations of

corruption since september. militants killed 59 people at a school. most of the victims were children. witnesses say that militants set fire to a locked dormitory at the school. as people tried to escape through the windows, the attacker shot at them. he slid the birth of some. throats oft the some. they want to was that was an islamic state in nigeria. court has beenp ruling on the european parliament on wednesday. judges struck down a law that required political parties to win at least 3% of the national vote to enter the parliament. some fear that the ruling could open the door to extremist parties. >> is something that concerns all of us.

to ensure that extremists are splinter groups. by some member states have said that the minimum threshold for entering the year in parliament -- have set a minimum threshold for entering parliament. >> to al qaeda extremists received long prison sentences in britain on monday. they murdered a off-duty soldier last year. he was jailed for life without role. his accomplice receives a minimum of 45 years. defendants were convicted of murdering a police officer on a london street. they ran him over with a car and then hacked into death. the attack provoked shock and anger across britain. >> parts of northern china continued to struggle with alarming levels of smog. the world famous portrait of mao zedong in beijing was barely

visible the city had its sixth day of orange smog alert. later in the week, wiens blew the smog further east. >> ukraine's new interim government took office on thursday. the opposition leader has been approved as prime minister. the new cabinet includes a number of leaders from the protest movement. they convened immediately to discuss the growing turmoil in the crimea region. men seized the regional parliament building on thursday. they raise the russian flag. they call themselves a self-defense force for the russian population. paramilitaryed unit occupied airports in crimea. there were also russian troop movements on the peninsula. the ukraine parliament called

for a un security council meeting. they were rushed out to respect their borders. >> we are appealing to the russian federation to stop moves that show signs of undermining national sovereignty of ukraine. we want to seize any kind of support for separatist movements. on friday, ousted president viktor dennis kucinich -- victor yanukovych resurfaced. he claimed his life was in front. like the red carpet treatment awaited angela merkel when she visited london. she was given the rare honor of addressing both houses of parliament. david cameron was hoping for some or in his efforts to reform the eu. the german counselor did not oblige. i expect my speech to pave the way for parliamentary reform.

i am afraid that people who think that are in for a disappointment. >> she was also pessimistic regarding london demands on freedom of movement. the two leaders stressed the things they do agree on. >> we both want to see change in your. we believe that change is possible. clean later met with the 14. she stressed the importance of written for europe. >> germany's former president was acquitted on corruption charges on thursday. it ends the first trial of a german head of state. the court cleared him of wrongdoing. prosecutors claimed that he accepted payment of around 700 euros from a film producer.

in exchange, he helped raise support for a movie project. the presiding judge called the amount peanuts and said there was no compelling evidence against the accused. >> at the end of the week, the german foreign minister was in washington for talks dominated by the turmoil in ukraine. the head of the international findsry said that he pledged to send a team to key of -- kiev to establish how much aid they need. she later met with john kerry. he appealed directly to russia. the russian parliament later approved the use of military force in crimea. >> antigovernment protests could continue throughout the week in venezuela. there are daily reports of violence. a man was shot dead friday in clashes with lisa in caracas.

-- police in caracas. students and opposition supporters have been venting their anger over high inflation and a shortage of basic goods in the country. the president held a called peace meetings this week. members of the opposition were largely absent. they have refused to enter dialogue until demonstrators are released were being held in jail. they expect the prime minister to stop the harsh crackdown on the protest movement. >> also on friday, over 200 african migrants broke into the spanish enclave. they reached european union territory. they made by dealing a heavily guarded and that separates the territory from africa. it was one of the biggest mass crossings in recent years. the number of people seeking to cross from north africa have

increased dramatically this year. peoplen estimated 30,000 said to be cap nearby. wherer spanish enclave