An Incident on Simonka

R H Auslander has woven an interesting tale of Sevastopol in late February 2014. The author’s extensive knowledge of the tactics and protocol of both the Russian and NATO side of the event becomes clear as the story unfolds, as does his knowledge of Russian culture. The fate in early March of the NATO forces stationed in Fiodosya on the south coast of Krimea is known, but what happened to the NATO enclave in Sevastopol in February? The US Marines in the enclave, located on Ulitsya Simonka in Rahdio Gorka Region on north side of the harbor, had been ordered at dawn on 23 February by the Sevastopol government to leave the city in two days, which they refused to do. They were gone from Sevastopol and Krimea by sunrise of 24 February. In Soviet times, readers of the news were adept at reading the news and finding the nuggets of truth. That skill is useful when reading this tale. Is this story true? Only the author, and those who may or may not have been involved in an event that may or may not have happened, know for sure.