Hide Caption 27 of 132 Photos: Photos: Crisis in Ukraine Crisis in Ukraine – A man holds a Crimean flag as he stands in front of the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol on March 17. Dozens of armed men in Russian-style military uniforms occupied the airport in the capital of Ukraine's... (Associated Press) 
 
 An unidentified armed man patrols a square in front of the airport in Simferopol, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 28, 2014. A serviceman at the scene confirmed to Reuters he was from Russia's Black Sea Fleet, part of which is based in Sevastopol, and said they were there to stop the kind of protests that ousted Yanukovich in Kiev. Dozens of armed men in military uniforms without markings occupied the airport in the... (Associated Press) 
 
 An unidentified armed man guards a building at the airport in Simferopol, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 28, 2014. “Under the guise of military exercises, they entered troops into the autonomous Republic of Crimea.” 
 
 He said that Russian forces had captured the regional Parliament and the headquarters of the regional government, and that they had seized other targets, including vital communications hubs, as well as blocked unspecified Ukrainian military assets. SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Armed men took control of two airports in the Crimea region on Friday in what the new Ukrainian leadership described as an invasion by Moscow's forces, and ousted President Viktor Yanukovich surfaced in Russia after a week on the run. ARMED INVASION 
 
 Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Russian naval forces of taking over a military airport near the port of Sevastopol, where the Black Sea fleet has a base, and other Russian forces of seizing Simferopol's civilian international airport. Yanukovich said Russia should use all means at its disposal to stop the chaos in Ukraine as tension rose on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, the only region with an ethnic Russian majority and the last major bastion of resistance to the overthrow of the Moscow-backed leader. Kerry talks to Russian foreign minister 
 
 The Russian Foreign Ministry said maneuvers of armored vehicles from the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea were needed for security and were in line with bilateral agreements. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday morning about the airport and military activities, and Lavrov told Kerry that the Russians "are not engaging in any violation of the sovereignty" of Ukraine. American officials did not directly confirm a series of public statements by senior Ukrainian officials, including the acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, that Russian troops were being deployed to Crimea, where Russia has a major naval base, in violation of the two countries’ agreements there. Russian response 
 
 In a telephone call with European leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of avoiding a further escalation of violence in Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a prepared statement Friday. Crimea, a multiethnic region that was granted a large degree of autonomy after Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union, has long been a source of tension with Russia and is home to some of Russia’s most important military installations, including the headquarters of its Black Sea naval fleet. Ukraine's President in Russia 
 
 Making his first public appearance since his ouster Saturday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said the newly appointed interim government was not legitimate and did not represent the majority of Ukraine's 45 million citizens. The fleet denied its forces were involved in seizing the military airport near Sevastopol, where armed men later also occupied the runway, and a supporter described the armed group at the civilian international airport in Simferopol as Crimean militiamen. Crimea's airports Simferopol is the main international terminal, serving the regional capital 
 
 Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, has a Soviet-era military airport (Belbek) which was also used for civilian flights until some years ago. Ukrainian air force jets are stationed there 
 
 The Russian Black Sea Fleet has aircraft stationed at other air bases in Crimea (Gvardeyskaya and Kacha) In pictures: Crimea tension 
 
 Russia denied any involvement with the takeover at the airport, but confirmed its armoured vehicles had been on the move around Crimea for "security" reasons. Near the military airport, half a dozen men in camouflage uniforms with automatic rifles were blocking the road using a truck with no license plates.
– More ominous developments in Crimea: Armed men have blockaded two airports in the peninsula, a day after pro-Russian gunmen took control of the regional parliament building. There are conflicting reports on who the airport gunmen are and whether they have actually taken control of the airports. At the airport in Simferopol, the Crimean capital, dozens of gunmen in unmarked military uniforms have been seen patrolling the area. "We are checking to make sure that no radicals come to Crimea from Kiev, from the Ukraine," one gunman told reporters. Flights there appear to be operating normally, CNN finds, but the Wall Street Journal reports that the other airport, Sevastopol's Belbek Airport, has been closed. Ukraine's interior minister blames Russian military units, calling this "a military invasion and occupation," the AP reports. More from Ukraine: Ethnic Russians are a majority in the Ukrainian region, which is home to Russia's Black Sea fleet, and the US has told Russia to show it is sincere about its promise not to intervene militarily, Reuters reports. "We believe that everybody now needs to take a step back and avoid any kind of provocations," John Kerry said. Ukraine's parliament also passed a resolution today demanding Russia cease any activity that could be considered an attack, CNN reports. Ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich, meanwhile, has surfaced in Russia, still proclaiming himself to be Ukraine's legitimate president. At a press conference today held in a Russian city near the Ukraine border, he insisted he was "not overthrown" but was forced to flee Ukraine in fear for his life, the BBC reports. He called the current parliament "illegitimate" and promised to continue fighting "against terror and fear." In Simferopol, it's not clear whether gunmen are still in control of the regional parliament building, though what the New York Times calls a "well-orchestrated power grab by pro-Russian forces" appears to have taken place across the city. Legislators held a session after the building was occupied and voted to hold a referendum this May that will decide whether to declare Crimea sovereign. CNN says the government buildings in Simferopol were still "under siege" today.