Russia’s upper house of parliament has approved President Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine.
He had asked that Russian forces be used “until the normalisation of the political situation in the country”.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, where many ethnic Russians live.
Kiev has reacted angrily to days of military movements in Crimea, accusing Moscow of trying to provoke the new government into an armed conflict.
Interim President Olexander Turchynov has called an emergency session of his security chiefs.
Meanwhile, big pro-Russian rallies have been held in several Ukrainian cities outside Crimea:
In Donetsk, Yanukovych’s traditional stronghold, demonstrators from a crowd of some 7,000 tried unsuccessfully to occupy the regional administration building, raising a Russian tricolour on a nearby flag-post
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, dozens of people were injured after scuffles between pro- and anti-Russian protesters broke out outside the regional administration building
In Mariupol, in the south-east, hundreds of protesters carrying Russian flags gathered outside the city council in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk also condemned as a “provocation” the presence of Russian soldiers in Crimea and said “we demand that Russian soldiers return to their permanent bases”.
“We are taking no steps that could provoke a violent confrontation,” he said at his first cabinet meeting. “All responsibility for the escalation of the conflict lies personally at the leadership of the Russian Federation.”
US President Barack Obama said on Friday that “any violation of Ukraine sovereignty… would be deeply destabilising”.
He warned of the “costs” of any Russian intervention in the Ukraine and commended the interim government in Kiev for its “restraint”. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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