On Wednesday, a gang of 10 to 15 gunmen threatened a senior U.N. diplomat in Crimea, eventually forcing him to leave the region just hours after after he arrived to evaluate the invasion by the Russian military.

Robert Serry, serving as a representative to the UN's secretary-general, had just visited a navy base in Simferopol when he was surrounded by the gunmen, who demanded that Serry leave Crimea immediately. Serry initially refused, and was forced to take shelter in a nearby coffee shop after the men surrounded his vehicle. He later made it to Simferopol's airport.

"I think this incident is just an example of how serious the situation has become and my hope is that everybody will realize that this situation is very urgent now and we must find a way to de-escalate the situation here," Serry said from Simferopol airport, according to ITV. "That is the lesson of what happened to me."

[Image via AP]