konknaijaboy | On 19, Mar 2014

SEVASTOPOL, Crimea — Russian forces and local militiamen seized control of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy here on Wednesday, a day after President Vladimir V. Putin declared that Russia was annexing Crimea.

Officers of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is also headquartered here, entered the base through its main gates as Ukrainian military personnel streamed out carrying clothes and other personal belongings. The takeover unfolded despite calls in the West for Moscow’s expulsion from key international bodies, such as the G-8 grouping of leading economic powers.

At the same time, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. continued his effort on Wednesday to reassure American allies in the Baltic region, once part of the Soviet Union, that the United States would protect them from any aggression by Russia.

“We stand resolutely with our Baltic allies in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russian aggression,” Mr. Biden said during a visit to Lithuania. “As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing economic and political isolation.”

The United Nations said on Wednesday that Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, will fly to Moscow and Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, on Thursday and Friday for meetings with leaders including Mr. Putin, Reuters reported.

In Sevastopol, the gates of the Ukrainian naval headquarters were broken open during the initial takeover, but there were no reports of shooting or injuries. At a far side of the facility, local self-defense militia units appeared to be looting some equipment, removing a refrigerator through one gate, and throwing bags over the walls, which were then loaded onto a waiting truck.

The militia forces appeared to have led the initial entry into the base, which has been surrounded since shortly after Russian forces deployed across Crimea more than two weeks ago.

The militiamen have been guarding the perimeter of the base along with professional soldiers in camouflage uniforms with no insignia but whose equipment and organization leave little doubt they are Russian military personnel. The militiamen entered the base around 8 a.m. and an hour or so later hoisted a Russian flag on the main flagpole.

The seizure came a day after President Putin reclaimed Crimea as a part of Russia, reversing what he described as a historic injustice made by the Soviet Union 60 years ago and brushing aside international condemnation that could leave Russia isolated for years to come.

Only hours after Mr. Putin spoke on Tuesday, a group of soldiers opened fire as they stormed a Ukrainian military mapping office near Simferopol, the Crimean capital, killing a Ukrainian soldier and wounding another, according to a Ukrainian officer inside the base and a statement by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea drew broad Western protest as governments scrambled to find a response to the Kremlin’s audacious moves, which have unfolded with remarkable haste since the stealthy takeover of the strategic peninsula began three weeks ago.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said the world’s leading industrialized countries should consider expelling Russia permanently from the G-8 grouping. The United States, Britain and their allies in the older G-7 body are meeting in The Hague next week to debate further measures against Russia, which will not be present at the gathering.

“I think it’s important that we move together with our allies and partners and I think we should be discussing whether or not to expel Russia permanently from the G-8 if further steps are taken,” Mr. Cameron told Parliament, echoing a similar call several weeks ago by Secretary of State John Kerry. “That’s the meeting we’ll have on Monday and I think that’s the right way to proceed.”

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, whose country has strong economic ties with Russia, was quoted by contrast as saying no decision had been taken on Moscow’s permanent expulsion from the body.

Before the crisis in Crimea, Mr. Putin was scheduled to host a gathering of the G-8 countries in Sochi in June following the Winter Olympics and Paralympic games there, but Western countries have suspended their participation.

On Thursday, leaders of the 28-nation European Union are scheduled to debate a response to Russia’s moves.

“If we turn away from this crisis and don’t act,”Mr. Cameron said, “we will pay a very high price in the longer term.