Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested approval from the Federation Council, the upper house of the country’s parliament, to move armed forces into Ukraine, according to the Kremlin’s press service, RIA Novosti reports on Sunday.
The move comes after reports of large Russian troop movements in the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and a week after the opposition swept to power in Kiev when President Viktor Yanukovych suddenly left the city.
Putin, who has yet to speak publicly about the crisis in Ukraine, requested permission to use military force because of a threat to the lives of Russian citizens and danger posed to Russian military forces located in naval bases in Crimea, according to the Kremlin.
Russian troops will remain deployed until the “political-social situation in the country is normalized,” the Kremlin said.
