21.   The United States reaffirmed its support for a unified Ukraine facing a secessionist Crimean peninsula in a letter from Secretary of State Warren Christopher on Monday.

22.   Russia should take over the fleet at Sevastopol and the considerable land bases along the edge of the Crimean peninsula that go with it, Kasatonov said.

23.   The epidemic appeared to be spreading south and affecting the Crimean peninsula in particular.

24.   The issue is complicated by tensions between the Ukrainian government and the majority ethnic-Russian population in the Crimean peninsula.

25.   The latter supports a referendum on independence for the Crimean peninsula, which was Russian until being transferred to Ukraine by Nikita Krushchev.