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 President Vladimir Putin launched a defiant and patriotic defense of Russia’s relations with the West Thursday as he faced the public in his annual live televised news conference. 
 
 He said 25 percent of Russia’s economic crisis — including its faltering currency — was caused by sanctions imposed following the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. 
 
 Putin said Russia was unfairly criticized for looking after its own interests, and compared his country to the United States. “To chop Texas from Mexico is fair, but when we make decision about our territories it is unfair,” he said. “Do they want our bear to become a stuffed animal?” 
 
 "We’re not aggressive" 
 
 In a defense of Russia’s defiance of NATO and the West, said: “Maybe our bear should sit quietly, not chasing any piglets around, but just eating honey and berries. Maybe they should just leave him alone? They will not. They are trying to put it on a chain. And as soon as they do it they will tear his teeth and claws out.” 
 
 The president also insisted Russia's economy and the ruble would quickly recover from the current crisis. In opening remarks, he acknowledged that the ruble could slide further because of falling oil prices and warned that spending cuts might be necessary — but said the economy would return to growth in two years. 
 
 Putin denied Russia was embarking on a new Cold War. "The only thing we’ve done is protecting our interests in a tougher way," he said. "We’re not aggressive. We’re not attacking anyone in the political sense of the word.” 
 
 He added: "There are American bases all over the world and you’re trying to say that we’re being aggressive. What about nuclear weapons. Our budget is $50 billion — the Pentagon budget is 10 times higher. Does anyone listen to us at all? Does anyone have a dialogue with us? No. All we hear is ‘mind your own business.' In the Ukrainian crisis I believe we are right and our Western partners are wrong." 
 
 He also took a swipe at U.S. justice in response to a question about the killing by pro-government forces of suspected terrorists in Chechnya. “Everyone should obey the Russian constitution. But the reality is usually more complex,” he said. “After 9/11 in the USA they legalized torture.” 
 
 Putin looked mostly relaxed during the session, sipping occasionally from a coffee cup embossed with the Kremlin logo and cracking jokes. 
 
 He gave an enigmatic answer to a question about his private life, saying he was still on good terms with his ex-wife. "Everything is fine, don't worry," he told a reporter. "My friend from Europe asked me, 'Do you have love? Do you love someone?' I said, 'Yes.' 'And does someone love you?' I said, 'Yes,'" 
 
 However, there was a tense moment when a prominent anti-Putin activist and television journalist, Ksenia Sobchak, asked about the suppression of political opposition. 
 
 “Why did you give her the floor?” Putin snapped at the moderator. 
 
 More than 1,200 journalists were accredited for the more than three hour question-and-answer session. Many waved bright banners or toy animals in the hope of being chosen to ask a question. 
 
 Putin is enjoying historically high poll ratings. Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Thursday found that about 80 percent of Russians still support him — an increase compared to 2012. 
 
 Earlier, a tycoon under house arrest since September was reportedly released just hours before the news conference. Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s release was reported by Interfax news agency citing his lawyer, Vladimir Kozin. The last-minute release echoes a similar move last year, when Putin announced after his annual press conference that another tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, would be set free. 
 
 The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin opens up about Syria, Turkey, Ukraine and other issues on Moscow’s agenda in his annual press conference. 
 
 The event—lasting over three hours in 2014—in which he holds court in front of hundreds of journalists in a live, televised broadcast, counts as one of the president’s annual public statements,. According to Russian state news, 1,400 journalists were given accreditation for the event this year and many took their place in the Moscow International Trade Center building—holding up colourful banners to coax the president into answering their questions, as per the usual set-up where thousands are submitted beforehand but only a handful answered. 
 
 The teasers for the press conference, an annual spectacle for Russians, teed-off the event on all Russian national TV channels a week in advance, with snippets of Putin’s past statements, close-ups of his face looking stern, cued to dramatic music. Key takeaways from the full-length conference follow: 
 
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 9:03 GMT The President, hampered by a dry cough, began by answering the more pressing questions on the agenda. He discussed oil and said the 2016 Russian budget would have to be adjusted, saying that Moscow had overestimated the recovery in the price oil. Putin said that, in hindsight, $50 per barrel was “a very optimistic estimate”. 
 
 9:33 GMT On Turkey, whose military downed a Russian Su-24 fighter, after accusing it of violating Turkish airspace, Putin reiterated previous comments but cast suspicion that the U.S. may have instructed Turkey to shoot at the plane. 
 
 “The Turkish people, and other Turkish speaking people who were our partners and friends will remain so,” Putin said. “With regards to the current Turkish leadership, as practice has shown, it is difficult for us to see eye to eye, if not practically impossible.” 
 
 “The growing Islamisation (of Turkey) also worries us,” Putin added, explaining that many aspiring militants leave Russian North Caucasus and go to Turkey, using the visa-free regime. This is part of the reason for suspending the visa-free regime, Putin says. 
 
 After being asked about the downing being influenced by a third party Putin said he “understood the hint” and allowed for the possibility of the U.S. being in some way behind the incident. “We do not know this, whether perhaps someone in the Turkish government decided to lick the Americans in a certain place, I do not know if that was the right thing to do. I do not know if the Americans need that or not - maybe there was an agreement on some level that “we will down the Russian plane and you can turn a blind eye” so that “we can go, for example, into Iraq’s territory and occupy part of Iraq”. I do not know, maybe such an exchange occurred, we do not know this.” 
 
 His speculation received a roaring round of applause from the room. 
 
 9:45 GMT After a brief detour on unemployment, Putin tackled Syria. He was resolute in supporting the regime in Damascus but appeared to soften his approach to the U.S. 
 
 “We will never agree that anyone abroad can say who will, and who will not, govern anywhere else. This is absolutely not equal to sanity nor to international law,” Putin said. 
 
 “Our position does not change, it remains on principal,” he added “We believe that only the Syrian people should decide who governs them, and by what standards they are governed.” 
 
 While Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar Assad and insisted that he be part of efforts to introduce a transition government, opposition groups in Syria, the U.S., U.K. and regional allies such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia have insisted Assad must go. This has been the major sticking point between Moscow and Washington’s ability to find common ground on resolving the crisis. 
 
 The president, however, hinted that Russia would be more open to working with the U.S. on Syria and said that “in the attempts of regulating a conflict that has gone on for many years now a compromise is always possible, but concessions must be made on both sides.” 
 
 Putin also appeared to rule out opening a permanent military base in Syria. Russia is currently using landing strips controlled by Damascus on a temporary basis, with only one facility controlled by Moscow in Syria on a long term basis. The facility in Tartus, however, is consider a resupply point and not a base, due to the lower level of armaments and smaller deployment there. 
 
 "Some say we need a base there. I am not so sure,” Putin said, explaining that Russian mid-range missiles allow for sufficient reach within Syria. “If we need to reach someone, we will get to them that way.” 
 
 9:58 GMT On Ukraine, where pro-Russian fighters continue to hold large swathes of land in the eastern Russian-speaking regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, Putin was not optimistic. 
 
 “Starting January 1, unfortunately, we forecast worsening economic relations with Ukraine, as we are forced to make a decision that Ukraine will not work as a member of the free- trade zone," Putin said, referring to the Russian economic union, of which Ukraine was initially planned to be an integral part. 
 
 “Russia is not going to introduce any sanctions on Ukraine, but in connection with the termination of the agreement on free trade zone with Ukraine, it will be shown no privileges and preferences,” Putin said. 
 
 "We are not going to introduce whatever sanctions on Ukraine. I want it to be heard," Putin reiterated. 
 
 Speaking about captives in the Ukraine conflict, Putin appears to confirm that Russian soldiers were in Ukraine. “We never said there were not people there who carried out certain tasks, including in the military sphere,” he tells a reporter who has asked him about two men, captured by Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine and confessing to be Russian paratroopers. Putin says this is different from sending “regular Russian troops” but does not elaborate on how. 
 
 Ukrainian news site, Ukrainskaya Pravda, has pulled a statement from April 2014 in which Putin denies “any Russian sub-divisions” are in Ukraine, “no special services and no instructors”. This is not referred to in the press conference. 
 
 10:32 GMT On Georgia, with which Russia led a brief armed altercation in 2008, and has continued to support secessionist regions on the border between the two countries, Putin said relations may improve but that Tbilisi has the “historical responsibility” for the collapse of relations. 
 
 “The government of Georgia and then-President (Mikheil) Saakashvili should not have been made such adventurous decisions that led to the territorial collapse of Georgia,” Putin said, referring to Saakashvili’s restrictive policies toward the wantaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions. 
 
 He briefly confused Ukraine for Georgia and corrected himself. 
 
 10:57 GMT Putin hails disgraced FIFA President Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter as “a noble man who has done a lot for the world of football”. “He’s the one who should be getting the Nobel prize.” 
 
 11:19 GMT In a rare occurrence—Putin speaks about his daughters. His two daughters, Maria and Yekaterina have not been publically pictured since they were very young and some reports have speculated that they may be living in Europe while Kremlin-critics, such as, Alexei Navalny have pointed to a woman working for Moscow’s State University as one of Putin’s daughters. 
 
 The president is vague on his children but admits he has not spoken much about them and he will do so now. He says they both live in Russia and both “speak three languages fluently” for work. He says they were educated in Russia but are entitled to live their lives away from the limelight. 
 
 11:37 GMT Putin turns to the failed South-Stream project with harsh words for Bulgaria, which rejected taking on a Russian pipeline across the Black Sea in 2014, despite neighbouring Serbia and Hungary’s willingness to take part in the project. 
 
 "I am amazed by the toothless position of the Bulgarian leadership, which for no apparent reason, ignored the national interest,” Putin says. Bulgaria maintains that Russia did not make an offer to build the pipeline, which could then be diversified in accordance with EU regulation. 
 
 12:04 GMT Putin turns to the murder of one of his most prominent critics, Boris Nemtsov, who was shot near the Kremlin earlier this year. Nemtsov’s daughter and other critics of Putin have blamed him, at least in part, for Nemtsov’s murder and some of the suspects currently in custody have ties with Chechen leader and Putin ally, Ramzan Kadyrov. 
 
 Putin is brief saying that the case must be resolved but he has not spoken to Kadyrov about it. "I have never discussed the matter with regional leaders and I have not and I am not planning to discuss this with the leadership of Chechnya.” ||||| A pregnant journalist was recovering in hospital last night after a pro-Kremlin political leader in Russia told two male aides to ‘violently rape’ her. 
 
 Nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky launched his extraordinary tirade after reporter Stella Dubovitskaya asked him an innocuous question about sanctions against Ukraine. 
 
 The 67-year-old MP’s outburst came before a deadly gunfight at a Ukraine checkpoint controlled by pro-Russian separatists tore apart an Easter truce. 
 
 Scroll do wn for video 
 
 
 
 Vladimir Zhironovsky launched an extraordinary rant at journalist Stella Dubovitskaya (pictured right in a light-coloured shirt) at a press conference today - telling two male aides to 'violently' rape her 
 
 Zhirinovsky turns to shout at the journalist, who is six months pregnant, after she asks him about sanctions against Ukraine 
 
 The attack raised tensions and led separatists to call for Russian military intervention to protect civilians 
 
 Moscow and local militia claimed five people were killed in the firefight at around 1am yesterday near Slavyansk, blaming a far-right group for the attack. 
 
 ‘The Easter truce has been violated,’ the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. 
 
 ‘This provocation…testifies to the lack of will on the part of the Kiev authorities to rein in and disarm extremists.’ 
 
 The politician approaches the female reporter - gesticulating at her wildly. He then told her: 'This is no place for you if you're pregnant' 
 
 But Ukraine has accused Moscow of a ‘cynical provocation’ staged by outside forces. 
 
 Yesterday Pope Francis prayed in his Easter message that God would ‘enlighten and inspire the initiatives that promote peace in Ukraine, so that all those involved…will make every effort to prevent violence’. 
 
 The fatal assault was the first serious violence since last week’s signing of a proposed peace plan between Russia, Ukraine, the US and the European Union. 
 
 The deal requires illegal military groups to disband and for gangs to leave seized buildings. 
 
 Two of Zhirinovsky's aides then approach the woman, following his commands. One grabs the pregnant reporter while others jump to her defence 
 
 It was rejected by separatist leaders, who still occupy police stations and government offices in at least ten cities. Ukraine’s interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of trying to ‘restore the Soviet Union.’ 
 
 
 
 He said that if Putin succeeded it would be ‘the biggest disaster of this century’. 
 
 In Moscow, Zhirinovsky’s conduct towards the pregnant reporter has been referred to the Russian parliament’s ethics commission and he faces legal action from Miss Dubovitskaya’s employer, news agency Russia Today. 
 
 One of the man's aides turns to look at Zhirinovsky - who then calls one of the reporter's defenders an 'interfering lesbian.' Stella Dubovitskaya is now in hospital following her ordeal 
 
 ‘Due to the disgusting incident in the state duma, after which our correspondent was hospitalised because of Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s discourtesy, we have decided to use all legal options to punish Mr Zhirinovsky as severely as possible under the law, including by suing him,’ said general director Margareta Simonyan. 
 
 After Miss Dubovitskaya’s question, the founder of the far right Liberal Democratic Party began shouting before manhandling two young male aides towards the pregnant mother-of-one. 
 
 He then shouted to them: ‘When I say, you run to her and violently rape her.’ 
 
 Zhirinovsky apologised for his actions during a live interview on Russian television this evening 
 
 The man said: 'When talking to the press in the Duma on Friday, answering questions at the end, I spoke a bit rudely when I replied to a young woman. I offer my apologies to her and to everyone, if I happened to offend someone' 
 
 A male journalist told Zhirinovsky: ‘She is pregnant, why are you attacking her?’ 
 
 
 
 Zhirinovsky then pushed two aides towards the journalist, who is six months pregnant, shouting: ‘Go and kiss her. Grab her.’ 
 
 One physically touched Miss Dubovitskaya, to the shock of the watching press, with several female reporters recoiling. 
 
 The gun battle was evidence that Ukraine is not reining in gun-wielding far right extremists, Russia claimed 
 
 The attack shows that the Ukrainian authorities are failing to rein in armed extremists, Russia's foreign ministry said today 
 
 At this point, another female reporter, Yulia Chuchalova from news agency Interfax, told Zhirinovsky: ‘This is derogatory, humiliating – what are you doing here?’ 
 
 
 
 Zhirinovsky hit back: ‘What are you doing intervening here, you lesbian? Get out of here.’ 
 
 He shouted: ‘This is no place for you if you’re pregnant. We need healthy people. Pregnant women should not show up at work. Sit at home and look after your child, got that?’ 
 
 He then shouted ‘get out of here, you damned lesbians’. 
 
 Armed men, wearing black and orange ribbons of St. George - a symbol widely associated with pro-Russian protests in Ukraine, drive an armoured personnel carrier in Slaviansk 
 
 An armed pro-Russian militant stands guard at a check-point outside Slaviansk today. A photographer at the scene said there were two burned out jeeps at the barricaded makeshift checkpoint 
 
 An armed pro-Russian militant looks for ammunition casings from the gun battle 
 
 Pro-Russian gunmen at the check point which is under the control of pro-Russian activists in the village of Bulbasika near Slaviansk ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Russian President Vladimir Putin: "It is an unconstitutional coup and a military seizure of power" 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no need yet to send troops into Ukraine, but that Moscow is ready to protect its citizens. 
 
 His comments come as armed men, who Mr Putin says are not Russian troops but pro-Russian self-defence groups, surround army bases in Crimea. 
 
 Kiev and the West have accused Russia of invading the Ukrainian peninsula. 
 
 US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Kiev, amid intensive diplomatic efforts to resolve the escalating crisis. 
 
 Speaking after talks with interim President Olexander Turchynov, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and other new government figures, Mr Kerry said Ukraine had entered a "new phase" of its struggle for freedom. 
 
 It is what the international community fears most: a confrontation that spills out of control and leads to war Resistance proves problem for Russia 
 
 He reaffirmed the US commitment to Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity", and condemned Russian aggression, saying there was no need for Moscow to pursue military action rather than diplomacy if it was concerned about its citizens. 
 
 If Russia chose to ignore appeals to pull back its forces, the US and its partners would have "no choice" but to seek to further "isolate Russia, politically, diplomatically and economically", he said. 
 
 Mr Kerry is bringing an offer of a $1bn (£600m; 720m euros) package to help ease its looming financial crisis. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The military strengths of Russia and Ukraine compared - in 60 seconds 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Kerry is offering Ukraine a $1bn package to help it through an energy crisis 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption On arrival in Kiev, Mr Kerry first paid tribute to those killed in the Maidan protests 
 
 In other diplomatic developments 
 
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is meeting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in the Spanish capital, Madrid 
 
 The EU is considering paying the $2bn which Ukraine owes to Russia in gas bills, AFP news agency quotes EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger as saying 
 
 Moscow has agreed to attend an extraordinary meeting of Nato members on Wednesday 
 
 According to Reuters news agency, Mr Yatsenyuk said that high-level talks were taking place between Russian and Ukrainian ministers. There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow, which says the new government in Kiev is illegitimate. 
 
 Ships 'blockaded' 
 
 Crimea has become the major focus of post-uprising Ukraine, as troops in what appear to be Russian uniforms surround Ukrainian military bases and other installations. Russia is de facto in control of the peninsula. 
 
 Tensions were especially high at Belbek airbase near Sevastopol, the port city which is the base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Early on Tuesday, pro-Russian forces fired warning shots in the air, and Ukrainian troops later marched away from the base. 
 
 Meanwhile, two Ukrainian warships are reported to be blocked by a Russian ship in the port of Sevastopol. 
 
 Ukraine says some 16,000 Russian troops have arrived in Crimea in recent days. 
 
 But at a news conference in Moscow, Mr Putin insisted that the heavily armed men who had taken over official buildings in Crimea and blocked Ukrainian troops in their barracks were pro-Russian "local forces of self-defence" - not Russian troops. 
 
 The BBC's Mark Lowen in the Crimean town of Bakhchysarai - north of Sevastopol - said one such armed man had told him on Monday he was "a Russian soldier, based usually in Sevastopol". 
 
 When asked whether he thought it was right for Russia to blockade Ukrainian bases he replied: "If you ask me as a person, then no it's not right. But I'm following orders." 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A Ukrainian officer (centre) negotiates with troops under Russian command at Belbek air base 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Ukrainian troops remain blockaded in Perevalne military base in Crimea 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Pro-Russian protests have been held in cities in eastern Ukraine, including here in Donetsk 
 
 At the scene The rumoured deadline had many on edge. It has been peaceful overnight, though there were reports of a couple of warning shots fired at Sevastopol airport. There is an atmosphere of fear and conjecture. Russian soldiers and local self-defence units are still at key installations, including Ukrainian military bases. At one base, in Bakhchisaray, a 22-year-old Russian soldier, Vitaly, said they were guarding the base against Ukrainian nationalists. "The people want us here, this is not an occupation," he said. A Ukrainian soldier there said "it's a Russian provocation. I answer to my government in Kiev - I'm not going anywhere". At the front gate was a pro-Russian civilian group with blaring music. One of them said they were protecting locals from "fascism". Does Russia have a case? Military balance of power 
 
 Mr Putin said the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych last month following mass protests was an "anti-constitutional coup and armed seizure of power". 
 
 He also insisted that Mr Yanukovych - whom Ukraine's parliament voted to impeach on 22 February - was still the legitimate president, though admitted: "I don't think he has a political future." 
 
 Ukraine was in "chaos", he said, with "nationalists" and "anti-Semites" roaming the streets of Kiev and other cities. 
 
 If Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine asked for Russia's help, or if there were signs of anarchy, "we reserve the right to use all means," he said. 
 
 He accused the West of encouraging the street protests. 
 
 Mr Yanukovych is now in Russia - Mr Putin said Russia had had to help him, "otherwise he'd just have been killed". 
 
 Hundreds of pro-Russian demonstrators have been rallying in Donetsk and other parts of eastern Ukraine, rejecting the new pro-Western leadership in Kiev. 
 
 There is international concern about the economic fallout from the crisis. On Monday the rouble plunged to new lows against the dollar and euro, but global markets steadied on Tuesday. 
 
 Ukraine's ailing economy relies on Russian gas - and on Tuesday the head of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, Alexei Miller, said that from April Ukraine would no longer get discounted gas, because it had violated its agreements. ||||| • Obama: Putin is 'not fooling anybody' • Putin: there has been 'unconstitutional takeover' in Ukraine • Germany: 'no solution in sight to Ukraine crisis' • Russia warns US of response if sanctions imposed • No overnight assault but Crimea remains tense • Russia states Viktor Yanukovych asked for military help 
 
 01.30 We're going to leave it there for the night, please check our Ukraine page for the latest. 
 
 01.10 The White House is also briefing that Obama won't attend the G8 summit unless the situation is reversed. (Worth remembering that it isn't until June and who knows where we'll be by then). 
 
 <noframe>Twitter: ian bremmer - US announces will not participate in G8 meeting in Sochi. Putin doesn't care.</noframe> 
 
 00.40 Obama spoke to Angela Merkel tonight about the situation in Ukraine and the possibility of Germany acting as a mediator. We're also starting to get some detail of the so-called "off ramp" the diplomatic offer that would allow Putin to de-escalate without losing face. It would basically involve Russian troops pulling back to their bases in Crimea, bringing their numbers below 11,000, and international monitors to assuage Russian concerns that its nationals would face persecution, according to White House officials. 
 
 00.20 My Russian isn't up to much but Buzzfeed reports that this video shows a cheerful Russian soldier laughing about having no insignia on his uniform before finally admitting which military he's from. 
 
 23.50 Obama has been maintaining the appearance of normalcy despite the crisis in Ukraine. Today, he went to a primary school in Washington, an unlikely venue for foreign policy announcements, to talk about the budget. Tomorrow he's headed to Connecticut to talk about the minimum wage and then to Boston for a political fundraiser. 
 
 Supporters will say the level-headed president is refusing to allow Putin to derail his agenda but critics would argue it looks like the leader of the free world isn't paying attention. 
 
 23.40 Robert Gates, Obama's former defence secretary, caused serious headaches for the White House earlier this year with his tell-all book trashing the president's national security advisers. 
 
 But he's come to his former boss's defence on Ukraine, saying that Republican critics are trying to "egg him on" into provocative military gestures that would only inflame the situation. He told the Washington Post: 
 
 I’d even be cautious about sending warships into the Black Sea. It’s a threatening gesture, but if you’re not prepared to do something about it, it’s an empty gesture. 
 
 23.12 The Kremlin has posted a full transcript of Putin's earlier press conference in Russia. 
 
 A lot of is pretty technical and I'm sure much has been lost in translation. But here's the key paragraphs on why Russia sees its incursion as justified. 
 
 What can serve as a reason to use the Armed Forces? Such a measure would certainly be the very last resort. 
 
 First, the issue legitimacy. As you may know, we have a direct appeal from the incumbent and, as I said, legitimate President of Ukraine, Mr Yanukovych, asking us to use the Armed Forces to protect the lives, freedom and health of the citizens of Ukraine. 
 
 What is our biggest concern? We see the rampage of reactionary forces, nationalist and anti-Semitic forces going on in certain parts of Ukraine, including Kiev. I am sure you, members of the media, saw how one of the governors was chained and handcuffed to something and they poured water over him, in the cold of winter. After that, by the way, he was locked up in a cellar and tortured. What is all this about? Is this democracy? Is this some manifestation of democracy? He was actually only recently appointed to this position, in December, I believe. Even if we accept that they are all corrupt there, he had barely had time to steal anything. 
 
 22.42 Caitlin Hayden, the White House's national security spokeswoman, confirms the US was made aware that Russia was planning today's missile test 
 
 <noframe>Twitter: ABC Foreign Desk - Nat'l Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden: "Russia provided advance notification of this launch to the United States."</noframe> 
 
 22.20 The US is talking about imposing sanctions on Russia within days but there's real anxiety in Washington about whether the Europeans can be rallied to the cause. The photographed Number 10 document, indicating British reluctance to cut Russia out of London's financial markets, is one source of concern. Another is whether Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, can be relied upon given how dependent it is on Russia for its natural gas supplies. 
 
 Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said yesterday that the US should wait until it has its European allies lined up before imposing sanctions. 
 
 The most important thing is for us – the United States – to make sure that we don’t go off without the European community. We have to work with them. Their interests are really paramount if we are going to do sanctions of some kind. We have to have them on board with us. 
 
 21.45 Having spent the day in Ukraine, John Kerry has now touched down in Paris. 
 
 <noframe>Twitter: Andrea Mitchell - .<a href="http://www.twitter.com/JohnKerry" target="_blank">@JohnKerry</a> arriving now Paris brought Ukraine's foreign minister with him to talks and will try to engineer meeting with Russian FM</noframe> 
 
 He's got Andrii Deshchytsia onboard his plane for talks in France with other European ministers. 
 
 21.29 Obama: Russia is not being strategic. A clip from the president's address today. 
 
 21.28 Our correspondent Roland Oliphant reports from a military stand off at Belbek air base in Crimea 
 
 20.26 More than 1,000 demonstrators with Ukrainian flags took to the streets of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Tuesday, for the first time outnumbering pro-Moscow youths who have seized its government building, which flies the Russian flag, Reuters reports. 
 
 President Vladimir Putin's declaration on Saturday that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine was accompanied by pro-Russian demonstrations across Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking south and east. 
 
 But in the four days since, the tide of opinion in eastern cities appears to be turning back towards Kiev. 
 
 Bearing placards with slogans such as: "I am Russian. I don't need protection," the protesters marched near the occupied regional government building, staying far enough away to avoid clashing with the pro-Russian youths still inside. 
 
 19.52 Russia said it had successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, with tensions high over its seizure of control in the Crimea and its threat to send more forces to its neighbour Ukraine, according to a Reuters report. 
 
 The Strategic Rocket Forces launched an RS-12M Topol missile from the southerly Astrakhan region and the dummy warhead hit its target at a proving ground in Kazakhstan, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Yegorov told state-run news agency RIA. 
 
 The Pentagon has told Luis Martinez of ABC News that the United States had been notified of the test, which was planned ahead of the recent and current unrest in Ukraine. 
 
 19.44 A UN envoy is en route to Crimea to assess the situation in the region, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky has said amid a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine. 
 
 The UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson has asked Robert Serry "to travel to Crimea to take stock and evaluate the situation there," Nesirky said. 
 
 18.06 Baroness Ashton held "useful" talks in Madrid today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. 
 
 "We had a useful discussion which lasted over an hour," a European diplomatic source quoted the EU foreign policy chief as saying after the meeting held in the Russian ambassador's residence in Madrid. 
 
 17.52 The Russia Today host who criticised Kremlin (see below) has been sent to Crimea, Josie Ensor reports: 
 
 Russia Today management told Channel 4 that Miss Martin had been "misled by American mainstream media". 
 
 However, in Russia Today's official statement released on Tuesday afternoon it said: "Contrary to the popular opinion, RT doesn’t beat its journalists into submission, and they are free to express their own opinions, not just in private but on the air. This is the case with Abby’s commentary on the Ukraine. 
 
 "We respect her views, and the views of all our journalists, presenters and program hosts, and there will be absolutely no reprimands made against Ms. Martin. 
 
 "In her comment Ms. Martin also noted that she does not possess a deep knowledge of reality of the situation in Crimea. As such we’ll be sending her to Crimea to give her an opportunity to make up her own mind from the epicentre of the story." 
 
 A Russian soldier watches Ukrainian servicemen at Belbek airport in the Crimea region 
 
 16.57 Barack Obama has also been speaking at a school in Washington. He said Russian "meddling" pushes nations away from Moscow and that Vladimir Putin's rationale for his incursion into Crimea was not "fooling anybody": 
 
 There is a strong belief that Russia's action is violating international law. President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations. I don't think that's fooling anybody. 
 
 Secretary of State John Kerry places roses on the Shrine of the Fallen in Kiev 
 
 16.26 John Kerry is talking in Kiev: 
 
 The US reaffirms its commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty. The United States reaffirms its commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to international law, we condemn the Russian Federation's act of aggression. There is nothing strong in what Russia is doing. 
 
 These brave Ukrainians took to the streets to stand against tyranny and demand democracy, but instead they were met with snipers and picked off one after another. 
 
 The Russian government would have you believe that Russian actions are legitimate. 
 
 The larger point is that diplomacy, not force, can solve disputes like this in the 21st century. 
 
 The United States would prefer to see this de-escalate. [But if Russia does not continue this path, the US ] will isolate Russia poilitically, diplomatically and economically. 
 
 This is the 21st century and we should not see nations step back to the 19th or 20th century. 
 
 Ukrainians warm themselves next to a fire at Kiev's Independence Square 
 
 15.56 Ukrainian and Russian governments have begun high-level contacts on the crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk has said. 
 
 15.05 A Russia Today presenter has apparently gone massively off message. In a report on the Kremlin-funded Russia Today television station, Abby Martin said she "wanted to say something from my heart about the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine and Russia's military occupation of Crimea". 
 
 Just because I work here, for RT, doesn't mean I don't have editorial independence and I can't stress enough how strongly I am against any military intervention in sovereign nations' affairs. 
 
 What Russia did is wrong. 
 
 14.55 David Cameron, speaking in Coventry, said: 
 
 On the issue of Ukraine and our attitude towards Russia, we should be very clear about this; Britain is working with our allies and partners, with America, with France and Germany, the leaders of which I spoke to yesterday through the European Union to make sure we take a very clear and strong approach in two vital respects. 
 
 First of all, to say to the people of Ukraine we back your ability to choose your own future. 
 
 You should be able to choose the path you take and you'll have the support of countries like Britain, France and Germany, the EU and America in doing so and we'll obviously be working through the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and other organisations to give Ukraine and the people of Ukraine the chance to choose that future. 
 
 We'll also be sending a very clear message, and are sending a very clear message, to the Government in Russia that what has happened is unacceptable. 
 
 A child plays near Russian soldiers as they guard the gate of a Ukrainian infantry base in Perevalne 
 
 14.45 Russian navy ships are blocking both ends of the Kerch Strait, Ukraine border guards have said - Reuters. 
 
 14.42 Channel 4's Lindsey Hilsum tweets: 
 
 <noframe>Twitter: Lindsey Hilsum - Suddenly masked paramilitaries turned up at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&q=%23Belbek" target="_blank">#Belbek</a> airforce base <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&q=%23Crimea" target="_blank">#Crimea</a>. Said they were from <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&q=%23Sevastopol" target="_blank">#Sevastopol</a> <a href="http://t.co/FOtg4fLPUN" target="_blank">http://t.co/FOtg4fLPUN</a></noframe> 
 
 14.38 The Kremlin has released a full transcript of Vladimir Putin's press conference. 
 
 14.25 Dr Liam Fox, Britain's former defence secretary, has told the BBC that the intervention in Ukraine was the latest example of a "thuggish pattern of behaviour" by Russia: 
 
 Much of this crisis was made in the Kremlin and there are those there who have never really got over the idea of the break-up of the Soviet Union. 
 
 Their insistence on having what they call 'the near abroad', in other words those countries that they demand to have control over, is anachronistic and destabilising. 
 
 We have to make very clear at all times that sovereign nations have to be able to exercise their self-determination free from hindrance and interference. 
 
 A coffin with the body of Volodymyr Topiy, 59, who was found burned in the house of trade unions during recent clashes, is carried along a street during his funeral in Kiev's Independence Square 
 
 13.45 Reuters reports that an official travelling with John Kerry in Kiev said: 
 
 We want to very visibly embrace Ukraine. Part of that is through an IMF package, part of it will be through bilateral assistance but in conjunction with our partners to try to support Ukraine. 
 
 13.44 The Turkish Air Force scrambled eight F-16 fighter jets on Monday after a Russian surveillance plane flew parallel along its Black Sea coast, the military has said. 
 
 US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Kiev 
 
 13.34 A good piece from Patrick Donahue and Tino Andresen at Bloomberg on the complex relationship between Germany and Russia - and Merkel and Putin: 
 
 While Merkel and Putin have clashed over topics from civil liberties and gas imports to art looted by the Soviets at the end of World War II, they have a shared history. 
 
 A Lutheran pastor’s daughter who faced discrimination at her East German school due to her father’s religion, Merkel learned Russian so diligently that she won prizes and a trip to Moscow. Putin is a fluent German speaker who served as a KGB officer in the East German city of Dresden during the Cold War. 
 
 13.03 We have put together some graphics and maps to help explain what is at stake in Ukraine: 
 
 12.38 In the House of Commons, William Hague has praised Ukraine's interim government for refusing to rise to Russia's ''deliberate provocation'': 
 
 I commend the Ukrainian authorities for refusing to rise to provocation and I urged them yesterday when I was in Kiev to maintain that posture through all circumstances and at all times. And I believe they will be determined to do so. 
 
 This continues to be a serious risk, particularly that deliberate provocation could give rise to a dangerous incident. 
 
 12.32 US officials say the White House will announce $1 billion in energy aid to Ukraine, AFP reports. 
 
 12.25 John Kerry's plane has landed in Kiev. 
 
 12.18 Roland Oliphant reports from the Belbek airforce base that the standoff is now over. Ukrainian troops have retreated. 
 
 Russian troops order Ukrainian troops back at Belbek airforce base 
 
 13.06 Here's footage of the Russian soldiers firing warning shots as Ukrainians approach on Belbek airport, demanding their jobs back. 
 
 11.50 Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is also speaking - he states that Moscow's move in Crimea was correct and that forces had seized arms and explosives. 
 
 Unarmed Ukrainian troops confront soldiers under Russian command occupying the Belbek airbase in Crimea 
 
 11.12 Vladimir Putin still speaking. He claims that sanctions will backfire on the West and denies that Russian forces had surrounded Ukraine bases in Crimea. He added that deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych had no political future but asserted he was legally still head of state. "I think that he has no political future. And I told him this," Mr Putin said, 
 
 11.10 Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe will go to the Crimea region where Russian forces have taken control, Ukraine's top security official, Andriy Paruby, has said, adding that the situation in Crimea was complicated but stable. 
 
 Vladimir Putin speaks on TV 
 
 10.40 Vladimir Putin is speaking, claiming there has been an "unconstitutional takeover" in Ukraine. Putin says that Yanukovich fulfilled all conditions of the February 21 agreement with the opposition and that he effectively gave up all power. 
 
 There can only be one assessment of what happened in Kiev and Ukraine as a whole - this was an anti-constitutional takeover and armed seizure of power. 
 
 The acting president is not legitimate. The legitimate president is Yanukovich. 
 
 Ukraine is not our closest neighbour but is our brother. Ukrainian troops and Russian troops will not be on different sides of the barricade, they will be on the same side of the barricade. 
 
 [There is no need to use force in Crimea or send troops to Ukraine] but Russia will do so as a last resort. Russia reserves the right to use all means to protect citizens in Ukraine. 
 
 Market turmoil is a tactical, temporary decision by investors... Russia is ready to host the G8 but [if Western leaders do not want to attend] they don't need to. 
 
 Russian and Ukrainian troops face off at Belbek airbase in Crimea 
 
 10.33 Telegraph correspondent, Roland Oliphant, reports from Crimea: 
 
 The most intense conflict yet in the Russian takeover of Crimea is currently underwayat the Belbek airforce base. It was occupied by Russian forces some days ago, but this morning the Ukrainian garrison commander led his men back to the base unarmed and demanded access to their weapons. 
 
 The Russians responded by firing in the air, which led to the ongoing stand-off. A Ukrainian officer, who did not want to be named, told me that if the Ukrainina forces had arrived armed, there is "no doubt" the Russians would have shot them all. 
 
 10.24 John Kerry, US secretary of state, is on his way to Kiev to give support to its new leaders. He stopped off in New York to visit his new granddaughter, who was born Monday morning: 
 
 Secretary of State John Kerry boards his plane at Andrews Air Force Base en route to Ukraine 
 
 10.21 Russia's Gazprom announces it is to end gas price discount for Ukraine from April 
 
 10.03 Ukraine prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, is to meet EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday. Herman Van Rompuy, EU president, tweeted: 
 
 <noframe>Twitter: Herman Van Rompuy - EU HoSG will discuss situation in <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&q=%23Ukraine" target="_blank">#Ukraine</a> with PM Yatsenyuk in Brussels Thursday prior to extraordinary summit <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&q=%23euco" target="_blank">#euco</a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Yatsenyuk_AP" target="_blank">@Yatsenyuk_AP</a></noframe> 
 
 09.51 Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, says there is "no solution in sight" to the Ukraine crisis after a "difficult" meeting in Geneva with Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov: 
 
 I had a difficult, long and very serious talk but it wasn't enough to say that a solution is in sight. 
 
 I can't run up a flag to say that we are on the way to finding a solution and that Ukraine and Russia are about to start talking. 
 
 Russian military armoured personnel carriers (APC) drive on the road from Sevastopol to Simferopol 
 
 09.45 What are the potential ramifications of the Ukraine crisis for the UK economy: 
 
 Much has changed in the past decade in financial relations between Britain and Russia – and not just for Chelsea FC, whose on–pitch success has been funded by owner Roman Abramovich. 
 
 His fellow oligarchs have fuelled the London property market, with Knight Frank data showing that Russians were the biggest foreign buyers of £1m–plus homes in the capital last year, spending more than £500m on some estimates. Their regular rows have also kept the UK legal profession in pocket. 
 
 09.34 Vladimir Putin is due to give his first comments on the Ukraine crisis in a press conference this morning. 
 
 Ukrainian service men wait in a column at Belbek airport 
 
 09.28 Fears of an assault by Russian forces on Ukrainian military bases surrounded in Crimea did not materialise overnight. Vladyslav Seleznyov, the defence ministry spokesman for Crimea, told AFP: 
 
 The night was quiet... No more declarations have been made by the Russian side. 
 
 09.20 Telegraph video of Vladimir Putin inspecting troops in western Russia yesterday: 
 
 09.12 Ukraine's parliament ratified an agreement on Tuesday to accept a 610 million euro loan from the European Union, agreed in February 2013 but never ratified under deposed pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich. 
 
 09.01 A Kremlin aide has said that Russia could reduce to zero its economic dependency on the United States. Sergei Glazyev, Kremlin economic aide said: 
 
 We would find a way not just to reduce our dependency on the United States to zero but to emerge from those sanctions with great benefits for ourselves. 
 
 An attempt to announce sanctions would end in a crash for the financial system of the United States, which would cause the end of the domination of the United States in the global financial system. 
 
 09.00 London (GMT), 11.00 Kiev (EET), 13.00 Moscow (MSK), 01.00 Washington (PST) Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine crisis
– Vladimir Putin today gave his annual televised news conference, with his words described as defiant and patriotic. The New York Times calls his message an "acidic" one, noting he gave no indication of backing down—on Ukraine, or in terms of his anger toward the West. As for the economic doom the country is staring down, Putin framed it as temporary, predicting it would end within two years as oil demand and the world economy strengthen; he also assigned 25% of the blame for the ruble's woes to the West's sanctions. Neil MacFarquhar, the Times' Moscow bureau chief, was one of a number of the 1,200 journalists who live-tweeted the three-hour, 10-minute event. He captured this tidbit, among others: " # Putin says he also does not know how much he earns. It arrives (in an envelope?) and he just forwards it to his accountant." More substantial highlights from the event, which featured journalists who waved toy animals in hopes of being selected to ask a question (a bit of color, per the Guardian: A journo brandishing a "green fluffy crocodile" got to ask about Moscow parking fines): One portion of the event getting plenty of press is an elongated metaphor about a bear—real and stuffed. Putin's comments, per the AP and NBC News: "Maybe our bear should sit quietly, not chasing any piglets around, but just eating honey and berries. Maybe they should just leave him alone? They will not. They are trying to put it on a chain. And as soon as they do it they will tear his teeth and claws out." [The teeth and claws are a reference to Russia's nuclear weapons.] "Once they've taken out his claws and his fangs, then the bear is no longer necessary. He'll become a stuffed animal." On Russia's interests, per NBC News: "To chop Texas from Mexico is fair, but when we make decision about our territories it is unfair." "It might be [true], it might be." That's Putin's take on whether the US and Saudi Arabia are secretly conspiring to suppress oil prices to hurt Russia and Iran. Shaun Walker's (of the Guardian) take: "It was pitched middle-of-the-road in all senses, there was lots of rhetoric but no major new policies announced, some conciliatory words about Ukraine but nothing concrete, and the most difficult questions were ducked or avoided. ... His words are unlikely to terrify the market, but probably won’t massively reassure it either."