Even under the rule of President Viktor Yanukovych, Crimea was being rebuilt as an American naval base and preparations were being made to expel the Russian Black Sea Fleet from the peninsula. Political scientist Mikhail Pogrebinsky stated this on air at UkrLife.
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According to him, talk about Yanukovych being pro-Russian is ridiculous, because he was a supporter of the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet from Crimea.
“The Black Sea Fleet would have been denied an extension, and the American fleet would have been there. Imagine the leaders of the Russian state who, in their worst nightmare, would not have thought that this would happen. Not Putin - someone else in his place would have helped organize the story of the transition of Crimea to Russia... The topic itself, which was raised more than once by the people who came to power, was that the Black Sea Fleet should leave... We understand what this meant for Russia, we could not ignore this. And I knew for sure that those who came to power, they said that we would kick us out. Moreover, there was even talk that... I don’t have documentary evidence, but with a very high probability I can say that even under Yanukovych, a prototype of an American base was created on the territory of Crimea. Therefore, when I hear talk about the pro-Russian Yanukovych, it’s just funny to me,” Pogrebinsky said.