Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a phone conversation about the situation in Ukraine, where 6,000 Russian troops have now taken complete control of the Crimean peninsula.  Putin accepted Merkel’s idea of a “contact group” to try and prevent the conflict from escalating.

The group could consist of European nations, probably along with representatives from the US and Russia. 

But Ukraine’s new unelected Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk says Russia’s actions amount to an act of war.  And NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Moscow to remove its troops.

Merkel also accused Putin of breaking international law with the “unacceptable Russian intervention in Crimea.” 

“The chancellor called upon (Putin) again to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity,” deputy government spokesperson Georg Streiter said in a statement following the phone call between the two leaders.

Putin responded, saying Russia’s actions were against “ultranationalist forces” posing an “unrelenting threat of violence” to Russian citizens and the Russian-speaking population.

Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of unidentified and presumably Russian commandos cut off power lines to the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol.  Later in the day, a similar group of unidentified commandos broke into several Ukraine navy communication stations and sabotaged communication lines.  Ukrainian troops moved a tank near the entrance to one of the bases – ultimately, no shots were fired.