“Under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terror
and violence,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin quoted the letter from
Yanukovich to Putin in an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

“People are being persecuted for language and political reasons,” he
quoted the letter as saying. “So in this regard I would call on the
President of Russia, Mr Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the
Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability
and defending the people of Ukraine.”

21.13 Broadcast from our correspondent Roland Oliphant who is was today
with the Cossaks in Chongar, where Russian-occupied Crimea meets Ukraine
proper.

21.03 Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin: Russia’s goal in
Crimea is to defend human rights, especially those of ethnic Russians. He
claims Ukraine is on the brink of civil war and reportedly that civilians
have been killed. There have been no reports of this.

He also cited bill – which Ukraine has now vetoed – that would strip the
Russian language as a secondary language in Ukraine.

^{(Getty Images)}

20.53 Interim Ukrainian Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh: 16,000 Russian
troops are in Ukraine, as quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The
agency quotes Mr Tenyukh as telling the Inter TV channel that about 5,500
Russian special-purpose troops had been relocated to Ukraine.

20.36 Interesting
CNN article by Aaron David Miller on how Ukraine could affect US policy
on Russia’s Middle Eastern allies: Syria and to a lesser extent, Iran.

Now Putin appears to be standing up to the international community and ready
to use force to protect Russia’s interests in Ukraine. He’s clearly not
prepared to do that for Syria. But victories for Russia, particularly in the
face of the West’s empty rhetoric and red lines, can only reinforce
al-Assad’s conviction that he’s betting on the right ally.

20.20 Strong language from Obama at the White House today just before
he goes into a meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.

“What we are also indicating to the Russians is if in fact they continue
on the current trajectory they’re on, then we are examining a whole series
of steps — economic, diplomatic— that will isolate Russia and will have a
negative impact on Russia’s economy and status in the world. We’ve already
suspended preparations for the G-8 summit, and we would expect there would
be further follow-up on that. We’re looking at a whole range of issues that
John Kerry mentioned yesterday.”

20.17 The International Paralympic Committee has said it is not
expecting a boycott by athletes. “All the countries are happy to come
here,” said IPC spokesman Craig Spence.

The events in Ukraine are rather overshadowing the build up to the Paralympic
Games, due to open in Russia’s Sochi on Friday. Russia’s Interfax news
agency reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is “upbeat”
about the Games.

20.08 Andrey Vadimovich Makarevich, founder of the Russia’s oldest
active rock band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine), has released a statement on
YouTube.

I’m very concerned about what is happening in Ukraine. But I’m much more
concerned about what’s happening on that account in my own country.

I cannot rid myself of the feeling that our authorities perceive the
country and its people as nothing more than things for them to control.

However, if a ruler does not listen to its people, and at the same time
uses force against it, the people will overthrow him. What happened in
Ukraine is typical of a revolution, and for all my lack of love of
revolutions, I cannot say that this was unjust.

20.05 ….and a thought for how Ukraine crisis might affect the US’
other foreign policy nightmare – Syria, an ally to Russia

Ex Obama WH official Steve Simon telling @ToThePoint_KCRW doesn’t think #Russian invasion of Ukraine will impact US #Syria policy.

— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) March 3, 2014

19.46 Obama has said that Russia is “on the wrong side if history”
on Ukraine and that its actions violate international law.

^(AFP)

19.41 A secret briefing document held by an individual walking into
Downing Street has been photographed. It suggests the UK will oppose trade
sanctions against Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Freelance photographer Steve Back of Political Pictures snapped the document.

The document also suggests that the UK will not try and restrict Russian trade
through the City of London.

It does, however, suggest that Britain may place visa restrictions on some
Russians.

19.35 Fantastic photo of what is reportedly a Ukrainian commander
telling the Russians he is staying.

Commander of #Ukraine military base surrounded by Russians announces his troops won’t leave. pic.twitter.com/FsDxrjsyEp

— Paul Waldie (@pwaldieGLOBE) March 3, 2014

19.26 NATO will hold fresh emergency talks on the Ukraine crisis
Tuesday, after Poland requested consultations with its allies on the threat
it poses under Article 4 of the alliance’s founding treaty.

The 28 member states ambassadors will meet because “developments in and
around Ukraine are seen to constitute a threat to neighboring Allied
countries and having direct and serious implications for the security and
stability of the Euro-Atlantic area,” NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen
said.

19.24 A section of a dispatch by our correspondent Roland Oliphant with
the Cossaks in Chongar, where Russian-occupied Crimea meets Ukraine proper.

On the northern side of the causeway, a small tent city marks the defacto
frontier of what is becoming the autonomous republic of Crimea.

Chicanes built of tires and wooden pallets block the road, while the flags
of Russia, the Russian navy, and the Kuban Cossack host flutter over the
frontier post, where cars and articulated lorries queue up to be allowed
into Ukraine proper.

“We’re here to prevent provocations,” said a man who identified himself as
Igor Zlobin, the commander of the detachment of Kuban Cossacks who man this
checkpoint.

“There is no one here but Cossacks. We’re here because our brothers are
here,” he said.

Mr Zlobin did not explain by what right his men had set up this checkpoint,
to whose authority they answered, or how he came by the Kalashnikov assault
rifle that dangled over his camouflaged paunch like a compass needle on a
pivot.

18.48 The Obama administration has said that any Russian threat to
Ukraine’s navy would be a “dangerous escalation” of an extremely
tense situation and it would hold Moscow directly accountable for such an
escalation.

The reaction comes hot on the heels of a reported statement earlier today from
a Ukrainian military spokesman, who apparently said that Russia had issued
an ultimatum to the crews of two Ukrainian warships in Crimea, demanding
that they immediately surrender or be stormed and seized.

18.43 Here is a video of pro Russian protesters storming government
buildings in Donetsk. The protesters smashed windows and climbed over gates
to occupy government buildings in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.

18.31 The EU has condemned the Russian “act of aggression”
against Ukraine and threatened sanctions unless Russia takes “de-escalating
steps” and returns its troops to their barracks ahead of an emergency
summit of European leaders in Brussels on Thursday. EU foreign ministers
have held
the door of diplomacy open to Moscow but given Russia an ultimatum to back
off with the threat of “future targeted measures”

The ministers fall short of calling the seizure of Crimea an “invasion”
and Baroness Ashton, the EU foreign minister, made it clear that a return to
barracks for Russian forces is what is meant by a “de-escalation”.

18.04 According to Reuters the US has said it would hold Russia
directly responsible if it has threatened the use of force against the
Ukrainian military. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said:

“These reports today of threats of force against Ukrainian military
installations would, if true, in our view constitute a dangerous escalation
of the situation for which we would hold Russia directly responsible.”

17.58 BREAKING Our man in Brussels Bruno Waterfield says that the EU
has threatened sanctions against Russia:

The EU has condemned the Russian “act of aggression” against
Ukraine and threatened sanctions unless Russia take “de-escalating steps”
and returns troops to barracks ahead of an emergency summit of European
leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

EU foreign ministers have held the door of diplomacy open to Moscow but
given Russia an ultimatum to back off with the threat of “future
targeted measures”.

17.52 Russian troops pictured with armoured personel carriers and
mechanical diggers at Chongar, the North East entry point to Crimea:

^{(David Rose for The Telegraph)}

17.49 According to Reuters US Vice President Joe Biden warned Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during a phone call of “increasing
political and economic isolation” if Russia does not pull back its
forces from Ukraine.

“The vice president made clear that if the situation in Ukraine is not
resolved, Russia will face increasing political and economic isolation,”
a White House official said.

17.45 Ukrainian seamen are pictured standing guard on the Ukrainian
navy ship Slavutich at Sevastopol harbor, as Russia deny they issued an
ultimatum to Ukraine:

^{(Andrew Lubimov/AP)}

17.37 Joe Conlan, a trader from energy consultancy firm Inenco,
explains why gas prices could be threatened by the Ukraine crisis:

“While the UK does not directly import gas from Russia, we receive it
through secondary imports, such as Russian exports of gas to Germany, and we
import via pipelines from Belgium and Holland.

“If the conflict persists, then sanctions are likely to be placed on
Russia. These sanctions could include sanctions on gas exports, which would
place considerable strain on the UK, France and Germany.”

17.32 Some more information from Raf Sanchez on the US’s decision to
cancel its presidential delegation to Sochi:

The US has cancelled its presidential delegation to the Paralympics in
Sochi in protest at Russia’s intervention in Crimea. While American athletes
will still take part, the six-person delegation, led by Tammy Duckworth, a
Congresswoman who lost both legs in Iraq, will no longer attend.

“In addition to other measures we are taking in response to the
situation in Ukraine, the United States will no longer send a Presidential
Delegation to the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi,” said Caitlin
Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

17.28 According to Reuters, the European Union will consider “targeted
measures” against Russia if tensions do not start easing in Ukraine’s
Crimea region.

France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius said that the EU wanted to see a
de-escalation – meaning a return of Russian troops to their bases in Crimea
– between now and Thursday.

“If there is not in the coming hours a very quick de-escalation, then
we will decide concrete measures such as the suspension of all talks on
visas, suspension of economic agreements and concretely that means that ties
will be cut on lot of subjects,”

“There could be targeted measures and that can also affect people,
officials and their assets,”

“We are extremely worried. The general tone is that the Russians
appear to have decided to go even further. Europe must be firm.”

When asked whether the EU could put sanctions on Russian individuals,
including Putin, Fabius said there was a precedent last week when the EU
agreed to sanction former Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich and officials
close to him.

“Similar decisions could be taken,”

17.25 Unidentified soldiers are pictured blocking the Ukrainian naval
base in the village of Novoozerne, near Simferopol

^{(Ivan Sekretarev/AP)}

17.15 BREAKING: Our man in Moscow Howard Amos says that the
Russian government has denied reports of an ultimatum issued to the Ukraine:

The Russian Defense Ministry has dismissed claims that an ultimatum to
surrender has been issued to Ukrainian armed forces in Crimea.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson described the reports of an ultimatum as
“complete nonsense,” according to Russian business daily Vedomosti.

17.09 According to Reuters, the White House has said it will no longer
send a presidential delegation to the Paralympic Games in Sochi in protest
at the situation in Ukraine.

16.56 Ukrainian soldiers pictured standing behind a fence while
unidentified armed men block the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in
Sebastopol

^{(VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images)}

16.52 Russian news channel RT is
reporting that 400 kilos of explosives and arms have been seized from
Kiev activists on the Crimean border.

TNT was confiscated as well as grenades, rifles and guns

16.49 Bruno Waterfield has some more information about the EU foreign
ministers who are still debating how to approach Russia:

EU foreign ministers are debating whether to explicitly warn Russia that
unless it pulls back then sanctions will follow.

The square brackets indicate where the debate lies – with splits over how
strong the EU’s language should be.

“[In the absence of de-escalating steps by Russia] The EU has decided to
suspend bilateral talks with the Russian authorities on visa matters, as
well as on the New Agreement,[ including modernisation and sectorial
cooperation dialogue.],” the draft EU text says.

“In the absence of an agreed solution, the EU will [consider][begin
preparations] for future targeted measures], [including an arms embargo].”

16.45 Here is some more from our man Damien McElroy about that Russian
ultimatum to Ukraine:

The head of the media-centre for the Ministry of Defence in Crimea,
Vladyslav Seleanyov, confirmed the ultimatum to BBC
Ukraine.

He said: “I spoke to the officers of the Ukrainian fleet. Vice-admiral
of Russian fleet Alexander Vitko gave them the ultimatum. He demands either
to surrender all the weapons or to take Russian side in the conflict.

Otherwise they are threatening to attack”

16.40 According to Reuters the speaker of Russia’s lower parliament
house said earlier today that “for now, there is no need” to send
the Russian armed forces into Ukraine.

On Saturday Vladimir Putin secured the parliament’s permission to use the
military in Ukraine if he wishes, citing the need to protect Russians.

State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin told the state-run Rossiya-24 television
in an interview:

“The decision … only gives the right (to use the armed forces),
which can be exercised in case of necessity; for now there is no need.“

16.35 The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an open meeting on the
crisis in Ukraine next Monday. It will be the third meeting of the Security
Council since last Friday, but the first open meeting that is not confined
to the 15 council members.

16.30 BREAKING: Snap from AP appears to confirm Russian ultimatum:

Ukraine: Russians issue ultimatum for surrender of 2
Ukrainian warships in Crimea.

16.24 Here is another picture of Putin with Defence Minister Sergei
Shoigu, left, and head of the Russian army’s main department of combat
preparation Ivan Buvaltsev watching military exercises.

Before now Putin hadn’t been seen since Russian troops entered Crimea.

^{(Kremlin/RIA Novosti/Reuters)}

16.14 The Evening
Standard is reporting that the price of bread could soar because of the
Ukraine crisis.

16.12 Here is an interesting fact found on Twitter:

16.06 Vladimir Putin has been attending the final day of military
exercises. He watched armoured tanks and vehicles at the Kirillovsky
training ground outside Vyborg, a town on Russia’s border with Finland.

He smiled as he walked towards the command centre where he watched tanks,
barely visible in thick fog, and listened to artillery fire.

It is the first sighting of Putin in several days.

16.02 According to Reuters Russia has said that NATO’s criticism of its
actions in Crimea region will not help stabilise the situation in Ukraine:

“We believe that such a position will not help stabilise the situation
in Ukraine and only encourages those forces that would like to use the
current events to achieve their irresponsible political goals,” the
Russian foreign ministry said.

15.55 CBS journalist Erin Lyall
has seen officers’ wives at a Ukrainian base making a human shield to
prevent a Russian invasion:

15.52: The Reuters report on the Russian ultimatum appears to have
originated from Interfax Ukraine – it is NOT confirmed as yet.

15.29 Some more information from Bruno Waterfield on the earlier
meeting with EU foreign ministers which resulted in a draft text being drawn
up:

The draft EU text, seen by the Telegraph, warns Russia that its use of
armed forces in Crimea are in “clear breach” “of the UN Charter and the OSCE
Helsinki Final Act, as well as of Russia’s specific commitments to respect
Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity under the Budapest
Memorandum of 1994 and the bilateral Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and
Partnership of 1997.”

“The EU calls on Russia to immediately withdraw its armed forces to the
areas of their permanent stationing, in accordance with the Agreement on the
Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet stationing on the territory of
Ukraine of 1997.”

15.25: More on that ultimatum: This from Reuters:

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has told Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender
by 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Tuesday or face a military assault, Interfax news
agency quoted a source in the Ukrainian Defence Ministry as saying.

The ultimatum, Interfax said, was issued by Alexander Vitko, the fleet’s
commander.

The ministry did not immediately confirm the report and there was no
immediate comment by the Black Sea Fleet, which has a base in Crimea, where
Russian forces are in control.

“If they do not surrender before 5 a.m. tomorrow, a real assault will
be started against units and divisions of the armed forces across Crimea,”
the agency quoted the ministry source as saying.

15.20 BREAKING: Russian news agency Interfax says Ukraine faces 3am GMT
deadline for the navy in Crimea to surrender or face “a real assault”

15.14 This photo from Donetsk shows riot police standing in line in
front of pro-Russian protesters, who are trying to occupy the regional
administration building.

^(EPA)

15.03 AFP is reporting the strong response from Russia to warnings by
United States Secretary of State John Kerry over military intervention in
Ukraine.

Mr Kerry, who is set to visit Kiev on Tuesday to meet the new leadership,
warned Russia on Sunday that it risked exclusion from the Group of Eight
nations and faced possible sanctions for sending troops into Ukraine’s
southern Crimea region.

In a statement on its website Russia’s foreign ministry said:

“We consider the threats against Russia made in a series of public
statements by US Secretary of State John Kerry over the latest events in
Ukraine and in Crimea to be unacceptable,”

Moscow accused Kerry of relying on “Cold War cliches“, saying
that he had not bothered to understand the complex processes taking place in
Ukrainian society.

Kerry failed to “objectively assess the situation that is continuing
to deteriorate after the forcible seizure of power in Kiev by radical
extremists,” the ministry said.

It accused the United States and its allies of turning a blind eye to the “rampant
Russophobia and anti-Semitism” of the opposition protesters who
took power in Kiev.

“The West’s allies now are outright neo-Nazis who wreck Orthodox
churches and synagogues,” the ministry said.

15.00 Mr Lavrov also called on Ukraine to revert to the agreement
signed by Viktor Yanukovich on February 21 which aimed to end the political
crisis.

Lavrov said Yanukovych respected the agreement, but the opposition “did
nothing.”

“The illegal arms have not been relinquished, the government buildings
and streets of Kiev have not been completely freed, radicals maintain
control of cities.

“Instead of a promised national unity government a ‘government of the
victors’ has been created.”

14.45 A little bit more from Russia’s Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov
who has justified Russian troops entering Crimea as a necessary protection
for Russian citizens living there. He told the U.N. Human Rights Council in
Geneva:

“We are talking here about protection of our citizens and compatriots,
about protection of the most fundamental of the human rights – the right to
live, and nothing more”

“Those who are trying to interpret the situation as a sort of
aggression and threatening us with sanctions and boycotts, these are the
same partners who have been consistently and vigorously encouraging the
political powers close to them to declare ultimatums and renounce dialogue,”

“We call upon them to show a responsibility and to set aside
geopolitical calculations and put the interests of the Ukrainian people
above all.”

14.37 Reuters has some powerful eyewitness information from Donetsk
where pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the first floor of the regional
government building.

A Reuters reporter in a press centre on the fourth floor of the building said
the protesters had seized the first floor but were unable to go higher
because lifts were disabled and stairwell doors shut.

The 11-storey building has been flying the Russian flag, rather than the
Ukrainian flag, for three days, with demonstrators carrying Russian flags
staging rallies outside.

A Reuters photographer said several hundred protesters, waving Russian flags
and shouting “Putin, come!”, had managed to enter the regional
government building through a side door after confronting police who guarded
the main entrance. Windows were broken on the second floor as protesters
tried to get to higher floors.

The Donetsk protest leader, Pavel Gubarev, demanded the parliament in Kiev be
declared illegitimate, a pro-Russian governor be accepted in Donetsk and all
security forces be put under regional command.

The Donetsk regional authorities have already voted to hold a referendum on
the status of the region, which Kiev has branded illegal.

14.30 Christiane Amanpour has the first interview with former Ukraine
prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko which will air tonight on CNN

14.17 Our correspondant in Brussels Bruno Waterfield has more
from the EU discussions on Ukraine:

EU foreign ministers are discussing whether to call Russia’s seizure of
Crimea an “invasion” or a “clear violation of sovereignty and territorial
integrity” of Ukraine.

The decision will have a major bearing on how the EU approaches its biggest
foreign policy challenge since the Balkans war of the early 1990s.

EU foreign ministers will warn Russia that unless it pulls back then
sanctions will follow.

14.11 Here
is the full story on German chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments that
Vladimir Putin has ‘lost touch with reality’.

German newspaper Bild wrote that she had complained to Barack Obama that Mr
Putin was “living in another world”.

14.07 We have put together a
gallery of photos from the conflict so far

14.05 Some powerful images coming through from Lithuania where
demonstrators have gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Vilnius to
protest against Russian intervention in Ukraine

^{Demonstrators gather outside the Russian Embassy in Vilnius (AP)}

13.57 Here is some more information from our man Damien in Kiev on
Hague:

The Foreign Secretary reported that the Ukrainian officials he had met
believed that Russia had opened a new front in its aggressive moves to
unsettle Ukraine’s new administration with helicopter incursions on Monday
on the northern border with Belarus. He said:

“They are concerned on an hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute basis with
the situation in Crimea and about other provocations – reports for example
today of Russian helicopters flying over the border, along the border, of
Ukraine and Belarus.

“They are deeply unhappy about what amounts to the loss of control
over Crimea and they are finding the lack of direct communications with
Russia to be a huge problem.”

13.50 Keir Giles, an asociate fellow at Chatham House, said that Russia
will take “whatever it can” from the situation.

“Russia learned from the armed conflict in Georgia in 2008 that use of
military force against neighbours can swiftly achieve foreign policy
objectives at little long-term strategic cost.

“In Crimea in 2014, Russia has once again solved a problem in a way
which most of the West found unimaginable in advance and unpalatable after
the fact. But the rest of the world has little leverage to deter or punish
Moscow.

“The West can scold Russia and cancel summits, but Moscow has at no
time considered words of outrage to be a response which needs to be taken
into consideration.”

13.45 Meanwhile life goes on in the village of Perevalnoye despite the
surreal standoff between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

^{A woman and child go about their daily business in the village of
Perevalnoye (Reuters)}

13.40 Our man in Kiev, Damien, says that Hague has given his backing to
the establishment of a monitoring force to investigate allegations that
revolutionary forces are attacking the Russian population. Hague said:

“Yes there is a good case for international monitoring of the
situation given that allegations have been made by Russia about what’s
happening in Ukraine,” he said. “I think this is very important
for the world to be able to see the facts. Of course the OSCE are taking
this up.”

Reports from eastern Ukraine had so far failed to bear out the Russian
claims. He said: “I haven’t had any credible reports of domestic
agitation of this kind.”

Mr Hague warned that the crisis remained far from any turning point, saying
Moscow was yet to signal its readiness to pursue a diplomatic outcome either
with the new Ukraine leadership or Western states. “There has be no
signal from Moscow nor any sign of a change in policy. There are no grounds
for optimism for a change in the Russian position.”

13.20 Lord Ashdown has called the situation, “a
mistake away from conflict’

13.16 Here is some video footage of William Hague speaking at the press
conference this morning alongside Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

13.09 This just in from Damien McElroy on those demonstrators in
Donetsk:

Reports coming through that shots had been fired when at least 100
demonstrators waving Russian flags stormed into a government building in
Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, and occupied at least one floor of the building.

Itar-Tass news agency says there are no police on the scene. The 11-storey
building has been flying the Russian flag, rather than the Ukrainian flag,
for three days. No reports of any injuries.

13.03 More from Bruno Waterfield in Brussels on what the EU could do:

This is what we’re expecting out of the meeting of EU foreign ministers as
the talks begin.

The focus will be on condemnation of Russia and keeping the door of
diplomacy open. EU will back OSCE or UN led mediation between Ukraine and
Russia. There will be an implied threat of costs and measures if Russia does
not cooperate.

EU is expected to agree the broad detail of asset freeze sanctions aimed at
the old Ukrainian regime on the basis of helping the new Kiev government
recover money siphoned out of the country.

This will be on the basis of a list provided by Ukraine and could include
Yanukovych, his son, up to 20 senior officials.

12.57 European Union foreign ministers are currently working on the
joint response to Russia’s military incursion in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula
that could include economic sanctions.

AP says the 28 foreign ministers are currently holding an emergency meeting.

Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said sanctions against Russia are an “option”
that will be discussed. Several other ministers, however, cautioned the
focus for now should be on diplomacy and forging a direct dialogue between
Russia and the new leadership in Ukraine to deescalate the situation.

Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, said discussions are
also underway on convening an emergency summit of EU leaders Thursday.

12.50 AP has words from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who is
justifying the use of Russian troops in Crimea.

“This is a question of defending our citizens and compatriots,
ensuring human rights, especially the right to life,” Lavrov said.

“Those who are trying to interpret the situation as a sort of
aggression and threatening sanctions and boycotts, these are the same
partners of ours who have consistently encouraged their political forces in
the ultimatum to refuse dialogue and ultimately have polarized Ukrainian
society. We call upon them to show a responsibility and to set aside
geopolitical calculations and put the interests of the Ukrainian people
above all.”

12.45 Reports now that Moscow stock markets have plunged up to 13.5%.
That’s a big hit and if you want to know more about the financial effects of
this crisis we are running a parallel live blog here
with our colleagues in the City department giving expert analysis.

12.38 This video can’t be independently verified, but according to
Buzzfeed, pro-Kremlin accounts on Twitter say it shows anti-Kiev protestors
breaking into the Donetsk government building:

12.29 More from Ban Ki-Moon who has called on Russia to avoid action.
Ahead of his meeting with Sergei Lavrov he said:

“It is critical to ensure full respect for and the preservation of
Ukraine’s independence, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,”

“It is now of the utmost importance to restore calm and to de-escalate
tensions immediately through dialogue,” he said, urging Russia to “start
to engage constructively and through peaceful means with Ukraine”.

11.59 More information is filtering through from the press conference
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk held earlier alongside William
Hague, when he admitted that at the moment there was no discussion of
military intervention.

“Any attempt of Russia to grab Crimea will have no success at all. Give
us some time,” Mr Yatsenyuk said.

“For today, no military options (are) on the table,” he said, adding
that what they urgently need is an economic and political support.

“Real support. Tangible support. And we do believe that our Western
partners will provide this support,” he said.

11.55 Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General, has said that he will meet
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today and will take the opportunity
to ask him to refrain from any acts of rhetoric that will further escalate
the situation on the ground.

He added that it was important that the situation is resolved and calm is
restored through dialogue.

11.50 More on the troops flowing into Crimea.

AFP adds: Over the last 24 hours, 10 Russian combat helicopters and eight
military cargo planes have landed on the Black Sea peninsula, Ukraine border
guards said in a statement, while four Russian warships have been in the
port of Sevastopol since Saturday.

11.43 Bruno Waterfield has sent us an update from Brussels. He reports:

Germany has signalled support for OSCE “fact finding” mission to
Crimea as alternative to “escalation” as EU foreign
ministers meet in Brussels.

“We are considering whether it wouldn’t make good sense to create
transparency about what is happening on the ground in eastern Ukraine and
Crimea instead of being dependent on rumours,” said Frank-Walter
Steinmeier, the German foreign ministers, on arrival in Brussels.

Berlin has come together with Washington on the idea of the OSCE role,
which is amlost certain to become a key part of the EU’s response but
Germany is still keen to take a more conciliatory role than the US on
sanctions.

Mr Steinmeier is stressing the need for diplomacy in a stark contrast to
Kiev, where the the Russian seizure of Crimea has been described as a
declaration of war.

“Crisis diplomacy is not a weakness but it will be more important than
ever to not fall into the abyss of military escalation,” he said.

^{A clergyman walks by as military personnel (R), believed to be Russian
servicemen, stand guard as Ukrainian servicemen are seen behind the gate
outside Simferopol (Reuters)}

11.40 The German Government seems to be warning against military action
in an attempt to bring the increasingly volatile situation back form the
brink.

A spokesman for Angela Merkel has told reporters that it is not too late to
resolve the crisis by political means, while Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the
foreign minister, has said that the situation must be resolved through
diplomacy and leaders must not fall into the abyss of military escalation.

11.33 As the tensions between Russia and the West continue to rise, the
Washington Post has taken a look back at the New
York Times op-ed Vladimir Putin wrote a year ago when he was facing
the possibility of American military intervention in Syria.

His claims that decisions on war and peace “should happen only be consensus”
are now “jarring”, the paper points out.

11.30 Dramatic AFP news agency alert just coming in:

Russian troops flowing into Crimea: Ukraine border guards

11.26 Former British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind states what many
are now saying on Twitter

11.20 William Hague has been speaking in Kiev, and has warned Russia of “consequences
and costs” after pro-Kremlin forces appeared to have taken control of
Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

“It is not an acceptable way to behave and there will be consequences and
costs,” he said two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin got the
green light to send Russian troops to Ukraine from parliament.

11.15 Outside the city of Kharkov lies a Soviet-era tank graveyard,
crammed with row upon row of rusted relics as a reminder of the areas
military past. To see fascinating pictures of the graveyard have a look at
our gallery.

^{A man walks past flowers placed at a memorial for people killed in
clashes with the police at Kiev’s Independence Square (AP)}

11.02 Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk has fought back against
the bloodless invasion of Crimea, saying that his country will never give up
on the Black Sea peninsula despite the fact that most believe it is now
completely under Russian control.

Yatseniuk has told reporters: “No one will give up Crimea to anyone.”

A map showing countries to which Russia has sent troops since the fall of the Soviet Union #infographic pic.twitter.com/q8cZ8scyI3

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 3, 2014

10.55 Russia has announced that it is investigating the leader of a
Ukrainian far-right group that clashed with riot police at Kiev protests for
allegedly inciting acts of “terror” in Russia.

The powerful Investigative Committee said in a statement that it was seeking
the arrest of the leader of the shadowy Right Sector paramilitary group,
Dmytro Yarosh.

“In the opinion of investigators… Dmytro Yarosh publicly calls for
anti-Russian forces to commit extremist acts and terror in Russia,” the
Investigative Committee said.

Investigators will shortly ask a court to arrest Yarosh in absentia and then
put him on the international wanted list, it added.

If convicted of making calls to commit terrorist acts, Yarosh could face up to
seven years in prison.

The country’s communications watchdog has also blocked access to 13 Ukrainian
nationalist communities on the country’s most popular social networking
site, VKontakte, over “direct calls to carry out terrorist activity and
take part in unsanctioned mass rallies including in Moscow.”

Yarosh’s page was among those blocked, news agencies reported.

10.50 Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the building of a 4.5
kilometre bridge connecting Russia with Crimea across the Straits of
Kerch, according to Russian news agencies. A new company will be created to
realize the long-discussed project, which is estimated will cost
about $3 billion and take about 5 years to build.

^{An armed man stands near a Ukrainian military base in Simferopol (Reuters)}

10.45 Vladimir Putin has been compared to Adolf Hitler by a former
Czech foreign minister who says he is repeating history by acting in Crimea
much like the Nazi leader did in central and eastern Europe in the late
1930s.

“What’s happening in Ukraine is history repeating itself,” Karel
Schwarzenberg said in an interview with Austrian daily Osterreich.

“Putin is acting along the same principle as Adolf Hitler” did
during his invasions of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1938 and 1939,
he said.

“Since he wanted to invade Crimea, he needed a pretext and said that his
compatriots were oppressed,” the 76-year-old Schwarzenberg said, adding
that Russians in Crimea, where they are a majority, were not facing any
discrimination”

“When Hitler wanted to annex Austria, he said that Germans there were
oppressed,” he said.

Europe should “clearly tell him that this is a violation of law that will
not pass,” said Schwarzenberg, who served as Czech foreign minister
from 2007-2009 and 2010-2013.

10.41 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that his
country’s action in Ukraine is a matter of defending Russian citizens and
human rights. He has claimed that ‘radicals’ control some Ukraine towns.

10.30 From the Crimea, our Moscow correspondent Roland
Oliphant has sent this dispatch:

I’m on the road, trying to get a sense of the Russian take over. So far
there is a mixed picture of resistance and surrender. the standoff at the
border guards base in Perevalnoye is on going.

“They told is to lay down our arms so they can protect them from i do
t know who. but we wont give them up,” said a Ukrainian major at the
gate. His men are surrounded, however, and by the looks of things heavily
out gunned.

Elsewhere, armed Russian troops are inside the perimeter of the military
airfield at Dzhonkoi in northern Crimea. The Ukrainian commander tells me
about 15 armed Russians forced there way in on saturday, disabled the
control tower and parked vehicles on the runway to prevent it being used. “We
did not receive an order to break out our weapons, so we didn’t resist,”
said Lt-Col Nikolai Gavrish.

The Russians left the base shortly after the daily telegraph arrived. But
troops are also on patrol outside the local telecom company headquarters in
the town on Dzhonkoi.

Over all, the view from Crimea is that the ‘war’ is over – Russian forces
are in complete military control of the peninsula, and with NATO making no
move to back them up, the Ukrainians know that a firefight could only end
one way. Crimea now is effectively Russian territory.

^{Ukrainian recruits receive instructions from a commander in a recruitment
self defense quarter at Kiev’s Independence Square (AP)}

10.25 And here is some more from Bruno in Brussels:

Compared to the strong position taken by the US there are different
geopolitical interests at play in Europe, especially for Germany.

Many in Berlin see the US is seen as too shrill, with Washington’s position
born of distance from Russia and Ukraine while Germany has to deal with a
situation close to its borders.

There are also economic links between Germany and Russia particularly in
terms of vital Russian gas imports for German industry.

So Germany is much more pragmatic and conciliatory with a focus on keeping
Russia at the diplomatic table.

During the EU talks it will be important to see how Poland, and Lithuania
line up with the US or Germany as both countries feel directly threatened by
Russia’s actions in Crimea.

10.10 This just in from out man in Brussels, Bruno
Waterfield.

Ambassadors are holding fast-moving talks this morning.

Diplomats tell me that the EU is unlikely to back the US position on
sanctions or to talk of kicking Russia out of the G8 at this stage.

There will be “only a general discussion of sanctions at this point” with
EU support for bi-lateral G8 measures, the suspension of the Sochi
summit preparations, said officials.

The EU could back an OSCE monitoring role, this was seen as working well in
Georgia after the 2008 conflict and it is a demand that could bridge
the gap between the US and Germany.

The EU focus will be on condemnation, a call for Russian withdrawal to its
legally authorised Crimean bases and urging a peaceful solution under
the auspices of international law.

^{Ukraine’s acting President Turchinov meets with William Hague in Kiev
this morning (Reuters)}

09.58 The tension in the Ukraine has hit the markets, with global
stocks taking a tumble and the price of gold and oil rising as people opt
for safe investments. The FTSE opened down 1.5pc this morning, while
Russia’s shares have dropped. For
all the latest developments follow our business news and markets live blog.

09.53 Our full report on William Hague’s comments on the crisis
can be found here. He has started a series of meetings in Kiev as
global diplomatic pressure ratchets up on Russia.

0947: Putin has lost touch with reality…

Ouch – damaging line here in
that New York Times article.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told Mr.Obama by telephone on Sunday
that after speaking with Mr. Putin she was not sure he was in touch with
reality, people briefed on the call said. “In another world,” she said.

^{A woman wearing a Ukrainian flag stands at a memorial for people killed
in clashes with the police at Kiev’s Independence Square (AP)}

09.40 A Ukrainian border guard has told Reuters that Russian ships have
this morning been moving in and around the Crimean port city of Sevastopol,
where the Russian Black Sea Fleet has a base, and that forces had blocked
mobile telephone services in some parts of Crimea.

He said the build-up of Russian armour was near a ferry port on the Russian
side of what is known as the Kerch Strait, which separates the eastern edge
of the Crimea peninsula and the western edge of the Taman Peninsula.

The strait is 2.8 miles (4.5 km) wide at its narrowest point and up to 18
metres (59 feet) deep.

“There are armoured vehicles on the other side of the strait. We can’t
predict whether or not they will put any vehicles on the ferry,” the
spokesman said by telephone.

The border guard spokesman did not say how many armoured vehicles had gathered
in Russian territory, opposite the city of Kerch on the Ukrainian side of
the strait.

The BBC are
reporting that troops have forced entry into a Navy base in the city.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian Defence Ministry.

MT @BBCOS This is a very helpful BBC explainer http://t.co/7XvfCuGvtP #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/7w1vqPt8Oc #Crimea

— Ann Shirley Finster (@annfinster) March 3, 2014

09.25 Damien
McElroy, who is in Kiev for us, has sent in this report:

If there was any euphoria in Kiev at getting rid of a hated government,
it’s well and truly in the background now.

Ukrainian reserves have started to receive call up papers at the outset of
the working week. Local reports point to a continuing build-up of Russian
forces around Ukrainian controlled territory.

The corridors of the Council of Ministers, where I am now, are filled with
business-minded officials rushing between meetings.

The government is on the receiving end of an influx of foreign diplomats
and IMF officials as it seeks support to tide the country through its
current troubles.

09.20 The situation in Ukraine has dominated the media this morning,
and produced some interesting comment pieces.

Mary Dejvesky
in the Independent argues that Putin’s calculus over Ukraine is
in part one of reflecting Russian public opinion.

“Within Russia, the popular pressure on Putin will not be for restraint,
but for action. His stance reflects a domestic consensus that, while Ukraine
may be independent, its natural place is within Russia’s orbit and Moscow
cannot just stand by while the West conspires to snatch it away. “Who lost
Ukraine?” is a question that has real potential to erode Putin’s power.”

Meanwhile there
is an interesting piece on Obama’s dilemmas in the New York Times.

The US is intending to implement some diplomatic and economic initiatives that
will “make it hurt” for Russia as one administration official put it.

In it though it mentioned this interesting read out from Obama/Putin
conversations of recent days.

“But Mr. Obama offered Russia what aides called an “offramp,” a
face-saving way out of the crisis, by proposing that European observers take
the place of Russian forces in Crimea to guard against the supposed threats
to the Russian-speaking population cited by the Kremlin as justification for
its intervention.”

09.13 Pro-Russian troops have taken over a ferry terminal on the
easternmost tip of Crimea close to Russia, exacerbating fears that Moscow is
planning to bring even more troops into this strategic Black Sea region.

Soldiers are now operating the terminal in the Ukrainian city of Kerch about
12 miles (20 kilometres) by boat to Russia.

Although the men have refused to identify themselves, they are speaking
Russian and have vehicles bearing Russian plates, the Associated Press is
reporting.

Troops that Ukraine says are Russian soldiers have occupied airports in
Crimea, smashed equipment at an air base and besieged a Ukrainian infantry
base in this peninsula.

It has been a fast developing situation since the Russian military captured
the Crimean Peninsula without firing a shot, and a number of senior
political figures have openly condemned their actions.

^{Military personnel stand outside Simferopol (Reuters)}

09.00 William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said that the current
situation in Ukraine is the “biggest crisis in Europe n the 21st Century”
and warned that “the world cannot just allow this to happen”.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Hague said that further
diplomatic measures could be taken against Russia in the coming days.

“If Russia continues on this course we have to be clear this is not an
acceptable way to conduct international relations,” he said. “As
President Obama and the Prime Minister have said, there will be significant
costs to that. That is something that Russia have to recognise.”

He added: “Russia has certainly taken operational control of the
Crimea…they have in effect taken control of the Crimea.”

08.55 China and Russia are in broad agreement on the situation in
Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry has claimed.

Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi
discussed the situation and noted “broadly coinciding points of view of
Russia and China over the situation that has developed in the country and
around it,” the ministry said in a statement.

The top diplomats “agreed to continue close contacts on this topic,”
the statement said.

Russia appeared keen to stress that it has a major international ally on its
military intervention in Ukraine after the other members of the G8 on Sunday
released a statement condemning Russia for violating international law and
suspending their participation in a G8 summit set to be held in Sochi in
June.

China is not a member of the G8.

Russia has found itself internationally isolated over its covert military
intervention and this morning its stocks and currency collapsed amid fears
of a prolonged campaign.

China and Russia cooperated on vetoing three UN Security Council resolutions
to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, although they voted
through a resolution this month on allowing in humanitarian aid convoys.

08.45 Morning and welcome to our live blog on the events in Ukraine and
Crimea, Russia and anywhere else that is being effected by the blowback from
one of the most serious European crises for some time.

There is masses happening today but the latest breaking is:

Reuters reports Ukrainian border guards are seeing a build-up of armoured
vehicles on the Russian side of a narrow sea channel dividing Russia and the
Ukrainian region of Crimea. The build up near a ferry port on the Russian
side of the Kerch Channel opposite the Ukrainian city of Kerch.

Meanwhile the stock exchange in Moscow doesn’t like what it is seeing: AFP
reports Russia’s markets have dropped about 10 percent and its currency has
fallen to its lowest point ever against the dollar and the euro because of
the crisis.

Britain’s foreign secretary William Hague is in Kiev this morning and has said
this is the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century.

He is blaming Russia for creating a tense situation in Crimea and asked for
troops to be returned to barracks.

^{Military personnel, believed to be Russian servicemen stand guard as
Ukrainian servicemen are seen behind the gate outside Simferopol (Reuters)}