Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has asked his upper house of parliament to approve the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine, the Kremlin says.
It follows discussions by the lower and upper house on ways to “stabilise” the situation in Ukraine’s Crimea region, where many ethnic Russians live.
Earlier, the Ukrainian defence minister said Moscow had already deployed some 6,000 extra troops to Crimea.
Kiev has accused Moscow of deliberately trying to provoke a confrontation.
President Putin submitted the request “in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens”, the Kremlin said.
He asked the upper house – which constitutionally must approve such a motion – for Russian armed forces to be used “until the normalisation of the political situation in that country”.
Earlier, the newly-elected pro-Moscow leader of Crimea, Sergiy Aksyonov, appealed to Mr Putin for help to ensure peace on the peninsula – a request which the Kremlin said it would “not leave unnoticed”.
‘Provocation’
The request follow days of military activity in Crimea during which unidentified armed men moved in to take over the regional parliament, state television and telecommunications hubs.
Soldiers from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Crimea, are reported to be guarding some administrative buildings and military bases.
Amid the closure of airspace over Crimea’s regional capital Simferopol on Friday evening, there were unconfirmed reports that Russian planes were flying in thousands of troops.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh said on Saturday there are now an extra 6,000 Russian troops in Crimea, alongside an additional 30 armoured vehicles.
Under the agreement governing the presence of the fleet in Crimea, the Russians must co-ordinate all troop movements outside the fleet’s base with the Ukrainian authorities beforehand.
Events in Crimea have angered the new interim government in Kiev and alarmed Western leaders.
Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchynov accused Russia of trying to provoke Kiev into “armed conflict”, but said they would not react.
US President Barack Obama has warned of the “costs” of any Russian intervention in the Ukraine.
BBC
