On February 22, President Yanukovych of Ukraine was ousted from power by angry demonstrators. Protests among the pro-Russia east were common, none more so than in Crimea, an autonomous region in eastern Ukraine, where there is an ethnic Russian majority. Over the past weekend, unmarked soldiers suspected to be Russian and pro-Russian defense forces surrounded Ukrainian military bases throughout Ukraine demanding their surrender. In response, Ukraine called for mobilization of its military and the Western world threatened Russia with possible sanctions. NATO released a statement requesting that Russia withdraw its troops, but so far that remains to be seen.