In Novo-Ozerne, the standoff had turned into an impasse by Monday afternoon. After the initial confrontation, the Russians had moved most of their forces away from the base and into an abandoned building, leaving about a dozen heavily armed soldiers in hurriedly built trenches outside the armoury.
The commanders have talked a few times, trying to avoid the chance of accidental bloodshed, and things often looked fairly normal, with soldiers, their wives and girlfriends passing easily in and out of the main Ukrainian base.
Outside the armoury, members of pro-Russian self-defence groups, which have often worked closely with the Russian military, set up a perimeter to search vehicles leaving the compound.
They were thrilled at the Russians' arrival.
