Who captured the dramatic story live inside the crisis. Im wolf blitzer, youre in the situation room. Tensions on both sides of this crisis only worsening this hour. Members of the media now the latest targets of the growing backlash. This is dramatic Surveillance Video of a bulgarian journalist in crimea being wrestled to the ground and assaulted by unidentified masked men who put a gun to his head. At least two ukrainian channels have now also been shut down. Here are some more latebreaking developments. The Russian Foreign minister sergei lavra warning the planned sanctions could inevitably boomerang on the United States. Cnn is there exclusively as gunmen block observers from entering crimea, and russians storm a Ukrainian Military base in crimea. Smashing the gates with a truck. Were covering this increasingly volatile situation as only cnn can. We begin with our chief National Security correspondent. Were more than a week into the crisis, and i think you can say were at a diplomatic and military stalemate between the u. S. And russia. Talks between those two countries still have yet to produce progress or even a plan for progress. Meanwhile, russia continues to defy the u. S. Demand that the forces return to their bases and the volatile mix of ethnic divisions and competing militias and soldiers and warships increasingly in danger of boiling over. As diplomacy sputters over crimea, violence erupts. Here prorussian Gunmen Attack a foreign journalist who tried to film them. One of the masked men points a gun to his head. And here a clash between prorussian and pro ukrainian mobs ends with a violent beating. Across crimea, the intervention looks more and more like a military takeover. And ukrainian Officials Say some 30,000 Russian Troops are on the ground above the 25,000 limit under russias treaties with ukraine. Its less important the number than it is what theyre doing. So were much more concerned about the activities. You know, blocking off Ukrainian Naval bases by sinking patrol boats into the waterways. And essentially establishing operational control of crimea. Reporter the u. S. Has repeatedly demanded russia pull the troops back to their bases, but they are still patrolling sovereign ukrainian territory. And western military observers attempting to monitor the situation were blocked from crimea by prorussian gunmen for the Third Straight day. Russia is fairly isolated here. Our preference is not to keep hyping up sanctions, our preference is to find an end to this conflict thats happening through engagement through discussion. Those discussions remain at a stalemate. A 60minute phone call between president obama and president putin visiting the Sochi Paralympics today revealed continuing divisions. And a phone call between kerry and lavrov ended with this saying sanctions would, quote, hit the United States like a boomerang. Now with a referendum in crimea for greater integration with moscow looming next weekend, some see a win win for russia. Both options benefit russia. One of them is a very independent autonomous region with heavy russian ties and influence. And the other is an outright annexation. Hes set the goal post farther down the field. Either way he wins. Yeah. On the political front. Two more potentially damaging developments. The Russian Parliament voting to endorse next weekends referendum in crimea on a closer association with russia or outright secession from ukraine. Also improving a proposal to make it easier for ukrainian citizens of russian descent to apply for nationality. Also, wolf spoke a short time ago to a Senior State Department official. And i asked, you have these public proclamations that are very unfriendly between the u. S. And russia now, like foreign minister lavrovs comments. And i was told yesterday that it is more professional behind the scenes between them. But i think you could say at the end of the day, the real power here is with Vladimir Putin. Does he have his ear . Is it his decision . He had to go back to russia to talk about the format of talks with ukrainian officials. So it is a stalemate right now. We have yet to see what they produce. Lets hope they produce something positive. Thanks very much. Jim will be back later. A new video of a missile destroyer moving into the black sea as the United States is getting new indications the Russian Military doesnt plan to leave crimea any time soon. Lets go to our pentagon correspondent barbara star working this part of the story for us. What are you learning . Well, wolf, you mentioned a couple of minutes ago about a base in southern ukraine in the crimea being taken over by russians and violence breaking out there. This is exactly the kind of indicator that the u. S. Is worried about. This standoff cant continue. This happening as the u. S. Military made its own moves today. With the eyes of the world on it, the u. S. Navy guided missile destroyer moved into the black sea. It is supposed to be a routine deployment. Nothing is routine. Today chuck hagel talked to the new Ukrainian Defense chief who made his first request for u. S. Aid. He asked the u. S. Secretary to provide advice and counsel to his troops. Ukraine says theres 30,000 troops in crimea, estimates 20,000 and more troops on alert inside russia. Behind the scene, crucial indicators the Russian Military is taking steps to become firmly entrenched in crimea. Supply lines are in place, units are being rotated. One u. S. Official telling cnn they can stay as long as they want. But the u. S. Has one more message for Vladimir Putin. Its ready to protect poland. Warsaw and washington are talking about a dozen u. S. F16s and 300 troops being sent to this polish air base for joint training. A message to putin even as the u. S. Worries about another man in moscow, edward snowden, the nsa leaker. Worried moscow will try to get access to u. S. War plans that snowden could have. If they dont have access, you have to assume that they are going to try to get access to it. And that would be very serious. So where are we . Russian troops on the border with ukraine at a heightened state of readiness. Other troops deep back inside russia also on a heightened state readiness, an awful lot would be ready to go, wolf, if Vladimir Putin ordered them in. Barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you very much. The cnn exclusive. On the front lines as masked gunmen block from entering crimea. And ill speak to the organization that oversees these observe observers. Plus, extraordinary new video coming in, new reporting, as well, from the front lines of this crisis. Ill speak live with the vice reporter capturing it all firsthand. Keeping up with these two is more than a full time job and i dont have time for unreliable companies. Angies list definitely saves me time and money. For over 18 years weve helped people take care of the things that matter most. Join today. Or how ornate the halls are. Tall the building is, it doesnt matter if there are granite statues, or big mahogany desks. When working with an investment firm, whats really important is whether the people behind the desks actually stand behind what they say. Introducing the schwab accountability guarantee. If youre not happy with one of our participating Investment Advisory services, well refund your program fee from the previous quarter. Its no guarantee against loss and other fees and expenses may still apply. Chuck vo standing by your word, thats what matters the most. Why are house repuretreating, ng, and privately saying theyd rather do nothing on Immigration Reform this year . Doing nothing puts jobs on ice. Forces us to lose out on revenue for roads and schools. And sends a message to millions of dreamers, who study hard and want to serve our country, they might as well dream on. No, nothing wont do. Call House Republicans today. Tell them weve waited long enough pass Immigration Reform. Hi boys ive made you campbells chunky new england clam chowder. Wow this is incredible i know. And now it has more clams [ male announcer ] campbells chunky soup. What . [ male announcer ] it fills you up right. [ chainsaw whirring ] humans sometimes life trips us up. Sometimes we trip ourselves up. And although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. Like multipolicy discounts from Liberty Mutual insurance. Save up to 10 just for combining your auto and home insurance. Call Liberty Mutual insurance at. [ thump ] to speak with an Insurance Expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. Personalized coverage and savings. All the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. Call. And ask about all the ways you could save. Liberty mutual insurance. Responsibility. Whats your policy . If your denture moves, it can irritate your gums. Try fixodent plus gum care. It helps stop denture movement and prevents gum irritation. Fixodent. And forget it. For the second straight day, unarmed military members from an unorganized on the ground with exclusive video of whats happening at the check point. Matthew is joining us now with details. Whats going on, matthew . Reporter wolf, thanks very much. Well, those monitors from the osce, the organization for security and cooperation in europe, they were turned back, we were with them exclusively traveling from the mainland ukraine across into the crimean peninsula. Theyd been knocked back talking about some quite aggressive responses from the masked gunmen who met them there. They were more hopeful today. They said they were more determined. They were going to go in and see if they could, you know, realize their mandates and report on the security situation inside crimea. Take a look at our journey. Reporter on the road to the center of the ukrainian crisis. The international monitors sent to report on the military buildup here. Try to make their way to crimea. We gained exclusive access to their convoy as it crossed from the mainland. All right. Well, were following these coaches here, which are carrying the 43 members of the unarmed osc military Mission Towards crimea. The last time they tried to get into the peninsula, they had a very hostile reception. One of the military offices on board there told me that the guards, the prorussian guards at the check point they tried to cross clicked their safety catches off. And so it was a very dangerous situation they were in. Earlier, when we were speaking to them as they got on to these buses, they told us that theyve had a meeting and that theyve decided they do have the right to access crimea. And so today, they say theyre going to be much more assertive about getting in. That these unarmed military officers can only push so hard. Especially when confronted with the masked prorussian gunmen manning the road blocks. The negotiations were short, access denied. Legally, are they allowed to prevent you from going in . Legally, its quite interesting question. They have the right to go there. But as you could see. Reporter it was at the invitation of ukraines interim government that the osce, a key European Security organization arrived. At least 18 member states, including the u. S. Sent military observers meant to monitor the crisis and help deescalate it, not make it worse. Well, this is a standoff weve been witnessing between members of the osc here and the prorussian Security Forces there for the blocking through this stretch of land towards the crimean peninsula. The osc, the commander here saying weve come here to check on the situation inside crimea. And im there, the mask has just told them that hes been ordered by the crimean government not to let anybody in. You see this is the reaction of the ukrainian crowd chanting now nationalistic slogans because theyre angry at whats happened. Reporter angry and frustrated, but for those who now control crimea, an International Presence is not welcome. Well, authorities here in crimea say they will consider International Observers for the referendum being staged here on autonomy next weekend. But only if those International Observers are from russia, wolf. Matthew chance with that exclusive report. Thank you very, very much. Joining us now is the United States ambassador, the group of these International Observers you just saw trying to get into crimea. Daniel behr is joining us. Ambassador, the russians say that this group, these group of observers lack what they call official invitations to come into crimea. What do you say to that . Thats just not the case, wolf. All 57 participating states in the osc are signatories of the vienna document, which is the document under which ukraine requested this visit, including russia. And ukraine crimeas part of ukraine and theres absolutely the right for ukraine to request under this document military observation, mission to dispel concerns about security situations on the ground, which are concerns, by the way, that have been raised by i the Russian Federation themselves. And this argument that the local crimea government, which crimea, of course, is part of the sovereign state of ukraine. But this local government in crimea doesnt want these observers to come in. Whats the reaction . Whats the what do you say to that . Well, the socalled government in crimea right now is effectively a puppet government. The guy who is leading it got 4 of the vote in the last election there. You know, that government does not have authority to decide where the sovereign territory of ukraine starts and ends. And it is the Central Government in kiev that has the authority to invite on a voluntary basis these observers. And 21 countries and 43 people have taken up that invitation, and we would expect the russian government as all others to support full access for them. What can you effectively do now if these observers are repeatedly blocked from entering crimea. Whats the answer . Well, obviously it is a military observer team, but its an unarmed. And this is not a military action. These observers are a neutral party meant to assess the situation on the ground. My understanding is they are now bedding down for the night. They will meet as a team and decide how to proceed. But this is part of a broader picture, which is as the president and the secretary of state have made clear, we will continue to explore avenues for delivering consequences for russias illegal actions. At the same time, theres an off ramp here. And the off ramp is for russia to have their military forces go back to their bases. The paramilitaries go back to russia. And for monitors to come in and address the concerns on the ground. You wrote this, and ill put it up on the screen. You wrote referring to the Russian Federation, we dont have to agree, but we should talk about hard truths. This should not be a forum where we disrespect each other by peddling a big lie. What is the big lie theyre peddling . The big lie is that there is some enormously terrible situation on the ground, particularly for ethnic russians, particularly in the crimean region of ukraine. The high commissioner for National Minorities of the organization for security and cooperation in europe was on the ground this past week. She saw no evidence of that. The only reports of the various things that the Russian Federation is using to justify its illegal action come from the Russian Federations own organs or press organs. There are no independent reports that corroborate any of the concerns that they have raised. Now, if those concerns are nonetheless real, they should be quite willing to invite and welcome and help support the access of the International Community to monitor the situation on the ground. Russia has been peddling a big lie in order to justify what is an illegal action that doesnt contribute to security in the region and undermines the faith of the International Community in the Russian Federations ability to be an international partner. Strong words for donald baer, ambassador, good luck over there, thanks very much. Well stay in touch. Coming up, the ukrainian crisis exposing an emerging divide inside the gop. What it could be for 2016. Also, ill speak live with the vice reporter bringing us extraordinary new video. Firsthand accounts from those directly affected by this conflict. Stay with us. Youre in the situation room. [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors. Oh hey, neill, how are you . [ male announcer ]. Youd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. Kevin, neill holleys on line one. Ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. Its amanda. Hey sweetie. Announcer ] what . [phones rings] okay, ill send it. One hundred seventytwo dollars for a chemistry book, what is it, made of gold . Just use citi popmoney. Boom. Ah, shes feeling lucky. Hey sweetie. Cancun, yeah no, youll be spending spring break with your new chemistry book. With citi popmoney its easy to send money to just about anyone, anytime. Visit your local branch or citi. Com easierbanking to learn more. The crisis in crimea is revealing fault lines beyond ukraine and even here in washington at the annual conservative conferen