Russia Reminds Ukraine Who’s the Boss

So Ukraine, you want to invite Joe Biden here, talking this and that about your “territorial integrity” … How about we drive around some mobile missile trucks on the streets of Sevastopol right after he leaves the country, and see how you like that?

The impeccable timing of siloviki aggression, as noted by the Financial Times:

Ukrainian traffic police blocked a column of Russian military vehicles from carrying missiles along residential streets in Sevastopol on Thursday, writes Roman Olearchyk in Kiev.

It was the third such incident in a month on the Crimean peninsula, .

Kiev and Moscow are engaged in tough negotiations over Russia’s use of the port at Sevastopol as a naval base. A rental agreement for the base is due to expire in 2017.

The Ukrainian interior ministry said police turned the convoy back because it had not secured permission to transport military equipment along city streets.

Local media reports cited Russian officials as saying they had full permission to use armoured personnel carriers and missiles in a rehearsal for a forthcoming Russian navy parade.