Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, take cover behind an armored vehicle as they attempt to take over a military base in the Crimean town of Belbek, near Sevastopol. 
 
 March 22, 2014 Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, take cover behind an armored vehicle as they attempt to take over a military base in the Crimean town of Belbek, near Sevastopol. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters 
 
 After an ultimatum to abandon the base and an hours-long standoff, Russian troops in at least four armored vehicles seized control of one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea. 
 
 A day after Russia effectively absorbed Crimea, Russian-backed forces on Wednesday broke into the Ukrainian naval headquarters in the key Crimean city of Sevastopol and raised the Russian flag. 
 
 A day after Russia effectively absorbed Crimea, Russian-backed forces on Wednesday broke into the Ukrainian naval headquarters in the key Crimean city of Sevastopol and raised the Russian flag. 
 
 Responding to Russia’s latest moves to formalize its annexation of Crimea, President Obama on Thursday announced new sanctions against Moscow and authorized possible future penalties against “key sectors of the Russian economy.” 
 
 Russia promptly retaliated by banning nine U.S. lawmakers and officials from entering the country. The list of banned Americans includes Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and three top Obama aides, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. McCain lamented sarcastically that his spring vacation in Siberia was now “off.” 
 
 The announcements came after the lower house of the Russian parliament voted Thursday to admit Crimea and the metropolitan region of Sevastopol into the Russian Federation, putting some of the final procedural touches on Moscow’s controversial takeover of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. 
 
 In Washington, Obama said he was ordering new sanctions against Russia in response to what he called Crimea’s “illegal” secession referendum and Russia’s “illegitimate move” to annex Crimea. 
 
 “The United States is today moving . . . to impose additional costs on Russia,” Obama said before embarking on a trip to Florida. He said more top Russian officials will be subject to sanctions, as well as other individuals and a bank known for providing “material support” to the Russian leadership. 
 
 President Obama said Thursday before leaving for Florida that the U.S. government would expand sanctions on Russian individuals and authorize future sanctions for sectors of the Russian economy. The president predicted these measures could have an effect on the global economy. (The Associated Press) 
 
 Obama added that he “signed a new executive order today that gives us the authority to impose sanctions not just on individuals but on key sectors of the Russian economy.” He did not immediately elaborate on which sectors might be targeted, but he noted: “This is not our preferred outcome. These sanctions would not only have a significant impact on the Russian economy, but could also be disruptive to the global economy.” 
 
 A fact sheet released by the Treasury Department listed 20 individuals and the Bank Rossiya as targets of the additional sanctions. Eleven people — including seven Russians — were named on a sanctions list issued earlier this week. 
 
 The individuals and the bank are being punished in connection with the annexation of Crimea. The new executive order that Obama signed separately authorizes the Treasury, if Obama so decides in the future, to impose sanctions against additional Russian entities — which he described as constituting key sectors of the economy — in the event that Russia takes further action such as invading the rest of Ukraine. 
 
 In Crimea, Ukrainian troops continued to face threats Thursday, as a group of armed men boarded a Ukrainian ship in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. 
 
 Vladislav Seleznyov, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman, said about 20 gunmen boarded the anti-submarine corvette Ternopol shortly after sunset Thursday and seized it, using flash grenades. There were no reported injuries. 
 
 Among those on the new sanctions list are government and business leaders who have been close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, some for many years. They include some of the richest men in Russia, as well as one Russian who is in the oil-trade business in Switzerland. 
 
 Connections to St. Petersburg, Putin’s home town, abound. The list targets several of the business leaders who have profited the most during Putin’s years in power through their connections to him. 
 
 The list includes key officials such as Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, and Sergei Ivanov, head of the presidential administration, as well as influential Russians in the banking and business communities. Among them is Yuri Kovalchuk, an old Putin friend from St. Petersburg who is known as “Putin’s banker.” 
 
 Kovalchuk and another person on the list, Putin aide Andrei Fursenko, are owners of Bank Rossiya, the sanctioned bank. 
 
 Bank Rossiya was described as having $10 billion in assets and as handling financial transactions for many senior Russian officials. 
 
 Long-time Putin associates Arkady and Boris Rotenberg also were named. A senior U.S. official pointed out that the St. Petersburg-based brothers were close to the center of power, receiving $7 billion in contracts connected to the Sochi Olympics. 
 
 The senior Obama administration official described the targets as “senior government officials, cronies and a crony bank.” 
 
 Briefing reporters Thursday after Obama’s speech, the official took a stern tone. “We saw some bluster earlier in the week that sanctions would have no impact. I would suggest if they have any interest in doing business outside the U.S., they will have difficulty doing so.” 
 
 The bank will be frozen out of the dollar, and correspondent accounts with U.S. banks will be terminated, the official said, adding that sanctioned individuals “will be prevented from operating around the world to the greatest extent possible.” 
 
 The other Americans banned from entering Russia are Caroline Atkinson, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs; presidential aides Daniel Pfeiffer and Benjamin Rhodes; Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Sen. Daniel Coats (R-Ind.). 
 
 “We have warned repeatedly that using sanctions is a double-edged sword and will hit the United States back,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site. 
 
 “Washington has been repeatedly assured that it is unacceptable and counterproductive to talk with our country in such a way,” it said. “However, the U.S. seems to continue believing blindly in the efficiency of such methods, taken from the arsenal of the past, and does not want to admit the obvious — in complete accordance with international laws and the U.N. charter, Crimean residents voted democratically for rejoining Russia. This decision can be liked or not, but it concerns reality, which has to be taken into account.” 
 
 The statement added: “There should be no doubts — we will respond adequately to every hostile attack.” 
 
 Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State John F. Kerry spoke again by phone Thursday about Ukraine, and Lavrov said the United States must stop “condoning” the activities of the right-wing Ukrainian group Right Sector and the Svoboda party, the ministry said in a separate statement. 
 
 “Lavrov stressed that the decision on Crimea’s reunification with Russia reflected the expression of the will of the absolute majority of its people, that it may not be reviewed and must be respected,” the statement said. Lavrov, it said, complained about “ongoing violence” by “ultranationalist and extremist forces,” who he claimed were targeting businessmen, journalists, dissenters, Russian speakers and “our compatriots.” 
 
 Responding to his inclusion in the ban, McCain said in a statement: “I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off, my Gazprom stock is lost, and my secret bank account in Moscow is frozen. Nonetheless, I will never cease my efforts on behalf of the freedom, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea.” 
 
 Menendez said in a statement: “President Putin’s military invasion and annexation of Crimea is brutal, totally unacceptable, and sadly returns us to a period of Cold War aggression and hostility. It doesn’t have to be this way, but if standing up for the Ukrainian people, their freedom, their hard earned democracy, and sovereignty means I’m sanctioned by Putin, so be it.” 
 
 The vote in Russia’s lower house, the State Duma, to annex Crimea was 443 to 1. The measure needed 300 votes to pass. 
 
 The lone Duma dissenter, Ilya Ponomaryov, later tweeted, “The best intentions have led us to a big political mistake: I vote against the war.” 
 
 [Meet the one Russian lawmaker who voted against annexing Crimea.] 
 
 The bill is scheduled to be taken up Friday by the upper house, the Federation Council, where expected approval will make Crimea officially part of the country under Russian law — despite the insistence of the United States, Europe and others that it remain part of Ukraine. 
 
 In Crimea on Thursday, Ukraine’s influence over the disputed region seemed visibly on the wane, with military bases now under the Russian flag and Ukrainian banks closed for the time being. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said it was preparing a plan to withdraw its remaining troops and officials. 
 
 Still, there were hints of a potentially durable conflict, as both Europe and the United States pledged further financial sanctions against Russia, and officials in Kiev and Moscow talked of trade, visa and other penalties they might impose against each other. 
 
 Lavrov, testifying Thursday in favor of the bill in the Duma, warned Ukraine not to seize property located within its borders of the Russian state-owned energy giant, Gazprom. He said such a move would have negative consequences for Ukraine. 
 
 “I think that it is in no one’s interests to begin this battle,” he said. “This could lead to a quite complex chain reaction, from which I suppose Ukraine will not benefit.” 
 
 Lavrov said that he thought Ukraine’s threat to leave the Commonwealth of Independent States, a post-Soviet grouping, is essentially a “propaganda” ploy, but he added that Russia will do nothing to stop it if that’s what Ukraine wishes. 
 
 However, Russia’s sanitary service almost simultaneously announced that Ukrainian livestock will be barred from Russia if the country leaves the CIS. 
 
 The Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site that it regrets Ukraine’s intention to require Russian visitors to obtain visas. 
 
 United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Putin in the Kremlin on Thursday and said he was deeply concerned about the Crimean crisis. 
 
 “We highly appreciate your efforts,” Putin said, before they began private talks. 
 
 European leaders on Thursday weighed additional sanctions against Russia, a day after Ukrainian troops were forced to abandon their bases in Crimea and prepared to evacuate the peninsula. 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her parliament that Europe would expand the number of individuals punished with travel bans and asset freezes for their role in the Russian takeover of Crimea. But as European Union leaders prepared to meet in Brussels, there was little sign they would impose the sort of broader financial penalties that many analysts see as necessary to change Russian behavior. 
 
 U.S. officials have repeatedly emphasized their close consultation with Europe, and the announcement of initial sanctions early this week was coordinated with the allies. 
 
 The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, and the United States announced sanctions the same day against 11 people — seven top Russian government officials and politicians and four Ukrainians, including ousted president Viktor Yanukovych and two Crimean separatist leaders. 
 
 Speaking from Brussels, interim Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Thursday that he did not believe Russia would stop at Crimea. “It’s crystal clear for us that Russian authorities will try to move further and escalate the situation in southern and eastern Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk told Bloomberg News. 
 
 In Crimea, meanwhile, the Ukrainian presence continued to ebb. Ukrainian banks were closed Thursday, with signs taped to the doors saying they no longer have authority to operate in Crimea because they are on foreign territory. They said they are making arrangements to reopen and that depositors will not lose their savings. 
 
 Leonid Polyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense, said a plan has been prepared to evacuate military families from Crimea, but the troops themselves have not yet been given orders. 
 
 Ukraine said Wednesday it would seek U.N. support in declaring Crimea a demilitarized zone so that its troops could be relocated to Ukraine proper, effectively acknowledging that it had lost the region despite vows it would never cede to Russia. 
 
 In the announcement, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Andriy Parubiy, said his country would hold joint military exercises with the United States and Britain. He did not provide details, but a Pentagon spokesman in Washington said the annual multinational exercises were previously planned and will be held in the summer. 
 
 Parubiy also said Ukraine would leave the Commonwealth of Independent States, an alliance of 11 nations that were part of the Soviet Union before it broke up 
 
 in 1991. It is led by Russia, and Ukraine’s departure echoes steps taken by Georgia after two of its territories broke away in 2008 with the support of Moscow. 
 
 Russia’s storming of the Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea, and the positioning of forces outside another base, served as a tense reminder of how unresolved the situation remains in Crimea even as Russia declares its absorption of the region an established fact. Ukrainian troops largely gave way without resistance Wednesday, though tension may be building as they face an apparent choice of becoming Russian soldiers and sailors, or moving from Crimea and maintaining their allegiance to Kiev. 
 
 Russia is also unlikely to agree to the terms of a demilitarized zone, which would require it to withdraw troops from the region while Ukraine pulls its forces out. 
 
 Russia moved swiftly to step up its occupation of Crimea after Putin on Tuesday signed a treaty annexing the peninsula. Its most significant action was the takeover of the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol, where pro-Russia militias and Russian regular troops stormed the base and checked Ukrainians at the gate as they left toting bags of personal belongings. 
 
 The Ukrainian rear admiral in command, Serhiy Haiduk, was taken out of the compound in a car, and Ukrainian officials charged that the Russians had taken him hostage. 
 
 Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov on Wednesday gave Crimean authorities three hours to release Haiduk and stop harassing the Ukrainian military or face “appropriate measures.” The deadline passed without apparent action. 
 
 However, Haiduk was released Thursday morning, according to Turchynov’s office. Several pro-Ukrainian activists also were set free. 
 
 Branigin reported from Washington. Karen DeYoung in Washington and Carol Morello in Crimea contributed to this report. ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday approved a draft bill for the annexation of Crimea, one of a flurry of steps to formally take over the Black Sea peninsula. 
 
 President Barack Obama speaks about Ukraine, Monday, March 17, 2014, in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington. The president imposed sanctions against Russian officials,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Self-Defense activists perform military exercises at a military training ground outside Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, March 17, 2014. Ukraine's parliament on Monday voted partial mobilization in response to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Self-Defense activists perform military exercises at a military training ground outside Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, March 17, 2014. Ukraine's parliament on Monday voted partial mobilization in response to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Crimea on Sunday voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and seek to join Russia. The West and Ukraine described the referendum which was announced two weeks ago as illegitimate. 
 
 The United States and the European Union on Monday announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis. President Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia didn't stop interfering in Ukraine. 
 
 Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, however, hailed Crimea's vote to join Russia as a "happy event." 
 
 Russian troops have been occupying the region for more than two weeks. 
 
 The decree signed by Putin and posted on the official government website Tuesday morning is one of the steps which that formalize the annexation of Crimea. Russia, however, still has room to back off: the treaty to annex Crimea has to be signed by leaders of Russia and Crimea, approved by the Constitutional Court and then be ratified by the parliament. 
 
 Putin is set to address both houses of the parliament at 3 p.m. Moscow time (1100 GMT) in a nationally televised speech where he is widely expected to stake Russia's claim on Crimea. 
 
 Gorbachev, in remarks carried Tuesday by online newspaper Slon.ru, said Crimea's vote offered residents the freedom of choice and justly reflected their will. The referendum showed that "people really wanted to return to Russia" and was a "happy event," he said. 
 
 Gorbachev added that the Crimean referendum set an example for people in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, who also should decide their fate. 
 
 Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev said in an interview with RIA Novosti on Tuesday that the peninsula has already received some financial aid from Russia but stopped short of saying how much. 
 
 Many in the ethnic Tatar minority in Crimea were wary of the referendum, fearing that Crimea's break-off from Ukraine would set off violence against them. Temirgaliyev seemed to confirm those fears, saying that the government would ask Tatars to "vacate" some of the lands they "illegally" occupy so authorities can use them for "social needs." 
 
 The Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution condemning U.S. sanctions targeting Russian officials including members of the chamber. The chamber challenged President Barack Obama to extend the sanctions to all the 353 deputies who voted for Tuesday's resolution, suggesting that being targeted was a badge of honor. Eighty-eight deputies left the house before the vote. 
 
 Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and Crimea's majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult. 
 
 Ukraine's turmoil, which began in November with a wave of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych and accelerated after he fled to Russia in late February, has become Europe's most severe security crisis in years. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ukraine puts on a "show" to illustrate its military readiness, as Chris Morris reports 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin has informed parliament formally of Crimea's request to join the country, the first legislative step towards absorbing the peninsula. 
 
 Mr Putin, who officially recognised Crimean independence on Monday, also approved a draft bill on the accession. 
 
 Crimean officials say 97% of voters backed splitting from Ukraine in Sunday's controversial referendum. 
 
 The EU and US have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions. 
 
 Travel bans and asset freezes have been imposed on government officials and other figures in Russia, Crimea and Ukraine. 
 
 France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris had cancelled planned ministerial defence and foreign relations talks due to take place in Moscow on Tuesday, saying they would have been "ill-timed". 
 
 Ukraine's foreign ministry, meanwhile, has issued a "decisive and categorical protest" against Russia's actions, saying they fell short of Russia's international commitments. 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk offered broad new powers to Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking regions as a loyalty incentive 
 
 Crisis timeline 21 Nov 2013: President Viktor Yanukovych abandons an EU deal 
 
 President Viktor Yanukovych abandons an EU deal Dec: Pro-EU protesters occupy Kiev city hall and Independence Square 
 
 Pro-EU protesters occupy Kiev city hall and Independence Square 20-21 Feb 2014: At least 88 people killed in Kiev clashes 
 
 At least 88 people killed in Kiev clashes 22 Feb: Mr Yanukovych flees; parliament removes him and calls election 
 
 Mr Yanukovych flees; parliament removes him and calls election 27-28 Feb: Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in Crimea 
 
 Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in Crimea 6 Mar: Crimea's parliament votes to join Russia 
 
 Crimea's parliament votes to join Russia 16 Mar: Crimea voters choose to secede in disputed referendum 
 
 Crimea voters choose to secede in disputed referendum 17 Mar: Crimean parliament declares independence and formally applies to join Russia Ukraine crisis timeline Wording of ballot paper Law and order breakdown Is Russian intervention legal? 
 
 In a bid to encourage loyalty among Ukraine's other mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east and west, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Tuesday that Kiev was prepared to grant them "the broadest range of powers". 
 
 In a pre-recorded address on Ukraine's 5 Kanal TV - delivered in Russian - Mr Yatsenyuk said the reforms would give cities the right to run their own police forces and make decisions about education and culture. 
 
 The peninsula was taken over by pro-Russian forces in late February after Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia following months of protests, though Russia has always insisted the troops are not under its direct control. 
 
 Kiev is also concerned about a build-up of Russian troops on its eastern borders, and has authorised the partial mobilisation of 40,000 troops. 
 
 Ratification 
 
 Mr Putin is addressing a special session of Russia's two houses of parliament at St George's Hall at the Kremlin. A delegation of Crimea's new leaders is also there. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Vladimir Putin told Moscow's parliament Crimea was and is an "inseparable part of Russia" 
 
 Russian news website Gazeta.ru, quoting sources, says that after the speech, President Putin and the speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, are expected to sign an agreement on Crimea's "entry into the Russian Federation". 
 
 Having approved the draft bill, Mr Putin has told MPs "to consider it practical to sign the agreement at the highest level," Russia's Interfax news agency reports. 
 
 Once signed, the bill must be approved by the constitutional court and then ratified by parliament. 
 
 The process is likely to be completed this week, after which Crimea is expected to be considered a new part of the Russian Federation, with the status of a republic. 
 
 In a sign of the wider impact of the Crimean referendum, parliament in the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester announced on Tuesday that it too had appealed to Moscow for the right to join Russia, reports said 
 
 Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti said any Russian moves to accept Trans-Dniester "would be a step in the wrong direction". 
 
 Sanctions 
 
 Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine while under Soviet rule in 1954 and much of its population is ethnic Russian. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Ukrainian troops are guarding checkpoints near Crimea 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Pro-Russian forces in the Crimean capital Simferopol are stepping up security 
 
 The results of Sunday's referendum were celebrated by many Crimeans, but the vote was widely criticised by Western leaders and at the UN. 
 
 Selection of officials targeted Dmitry Rogozin - Russian deputy PM (US) 
 
 Valentina Matviyenko - head of Russia's upper house (US) 
 
 Sergei Aksyonov - acting PM of Crimea (US and EU) 
 
 Vladimir Konstantinov - speaker of Crimean parliament (US and EU) 
 
 Viktor Yanukovych - former Ukrainian president (US) 
 
 Andrei Klishas - member of Russia's upper house (US and EU) 
 
 Leonid Slutsky - head of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) parliamentary committee in Russia (US and EU) 
 
 Sergei Zheleznyak - deputy speaker of Russia's state Duma (EU) 
 
 Alexsandr Vitko - commander of Black Sea Fleet (EU) US executive order on sanctions Full list of EU sanctions 
 
 Voters had been asked to choose between joining Russia or having greater autonomy within Ukraine. There was no option for those who wanted the constitutional arrangements to remain unchanged. 
 
 Many among Crimea's ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars - together making up about a third of the population - had said they would boycott the vote. 
 
 The Tatars were driven from Crimea under the Soviet Union, only being able to return after the collapse of the USSR. They have expressed fears of persecution under Russia. 
 
 On Monday, the EU and US published separate lists of sanctions in response to Moscow's intervention. Both included Crimea's acting leader, Sergei Aksyonov, and speaker Mr Konstantinov. 
 
 But the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says the sanctions have largely been dismissed in Russia, including by those they targeted. 
 
 Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin's senior foreign policy adviser, told Russian media the measures "provoke only feelings of irony and sarcasm". 
 
 Despite the condemnation, Mr Putin seems intent on pushing ahead very quickly with the annexation of Crimea, our correspondent adds.
– The White House has responded to Crimea's secession vote by expanding its sanctions to target several Russian officials, people providing "material support" to them, and players in the arms industry, President Obama announced today. In brief remarks, Obama characterized yesterday's referendum as illegal, and said the sanctions would show "that there are consequences for their actions," according to the AP. "I believe there's still a path to resolve this situation diplomatically," Obama said. But "we're going to stand firm in our unwavering support for Ukraine." The White House named seven specific Russian officials that administration sources described as "key ideologists" and "architects" of Russia's invasion, USA Today reports, along with several other individuals, including the prime minister of Crimea and speaker of the Crimean parliament. Moscow, meanwhile, indicated that it would annex Crimea in short order, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We will take care of our part quickly, quickly and responsibly," the speaker of the Duma said. Vladimir Putin will address Russia's parliament on the matter tomorrow.