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Officers from the Ukrainian navy ship Ternopil get on board of a boat in front of the Russian navy ship minesweeper “Turbinist” anchored at the harbor of Sevastopol on March 11, 2014. Lawmakers on the flashpoint Crimean peninsula voted on March 11 for independence from Ukraine ahead of a referendum on joining Russia while Washington rebuffed talks with Moscow in one of their fiercest clashes since the Cold War. The strategic region’s self-declared rulers are recruiting volunteers to fight Ukrainian soldiers while Russia’s parliament on March 11 prepared legislation that would simplify the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea after the weekend’s vote. AFP PHOTO/ FILIPPO MONTEFORTE