A Russian flag floats in the wind as Russian Navy ships remain in the harbour of Sevastopol, on March 15, 2014. Ukraine braced for a breakaway vote in Crimea as deadly violence flared again in the ex-Soviet country's tinderbox east amid the biggest East-West showdown since the Cold War.  AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV        (Photo credit should read VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP via Getty Images)