The Russian Parliament has approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to use troops to be used in Ukraine, used “until the normalization of the political situation in the country”.  It comes a day after US president Barack Obama warned Russia of consequences for getting involved in Ukraine.

Russian forces were already in the Crimean peninsula, because the Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed there with 15,000 forces on hand.  Gunmen who identified themselves as from a base in Russia seized important roads and airports. Russian consular officials started distributing Russian passports to policemen in Crimea.  Along with pro-Russian demonstrators denouncing the change in power in Kiev and holding the streets in Sevastopol and Simferopol, Putin has already exerted his control over the region.

The Russian parliament also recommended that Moscow pulls is US Ambassador out of Washington, although the chance of that happening is incredibly unlikely.

Russia's Energy Ministry is also threatening to discontinue the deep discount it gives Ukraine on gas, because Kiev owes US$1.5 Billion, a move that can wreak havoc on Ukraine's already-crashing economy.