They then fixed yellow paper signs on the gate and in the barbed wire around the perimeter saying in Russian "Forbidden Zone, Entrance Closed."
At Ukrainian bases near Sevastopol, Russian troops were posted near the gates and were spread around the perimeters of several bases. When asked why they were there, officers replied they were providing security to the bases to stop any pro-Russian citizens who might try to take them.
At one base off Makarova Street near downtown Sevastopol, Russian troops used a military truck to block the entrance to the main gate. The Russians, clad in green, and the Ukrainians, clad in black, cradled heavy machine guns as they eyed each other through a gray painted wrought iron gate.
The troops besieging the base had no markings on their uniforms. Their commander, when asked if he could reveal their nationality, said "of course not." Others admitted they were Russian.  
At least one unmarked soldier in Ukraine admitted directly to CNN Reporter Diana Magnay that he was with the Russian Army. 
Ukrainian officials at the base said the Russians were allowing food and provisions to be brought in. So far, the standoff had been "peaceful and quiet," said the Ukrainian commander, who declined to give his name. "There is some element of them also preventing others from attacking us," he said. By "others," he was referring to armed Crimean civilians who reject authorities in Kiev.
At another base containing antiaircraft batteries in southern Sevastopol, Russians guarded the entrance and placed soldiers every few yards along its outlying walls. Though in the standoff, the two sides were congenial. Two Ukrainian officers stood outside drinking coffee with the Russian commander. "No, we have no problems here," one said. "They are letting us in and out as we please for now."