There has been upheaval in Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovych's government shelved plans to sign a pact with the European Union sparking confrontation between protesters and police that resulted in death and injury.
Lawmakers in Crimea called a March 16 referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation on the accession of Crimea after both houses of the parliament unanimously approved it.
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 Meaning of the Crimea crisis
 A game with no winners |
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The UN General Assembly ( UNGA) on Thursday adopted a resolution, affirming its commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and urging all parties to strive for peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis "through direct political dialogue." The resolution, co-sponsored by countries such as Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania and Ukraine, received 100 votes in favor, 11 votes against and 58 abstentions. The General Assembly resolution is not legally binding. Read more |
 No Cold War thinking |
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Crimea, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and historically part of the Russian Federation, was transferred in May 1954 to Ukraine, then a republic of the Soviet Union.
Lawmakers in Crimea called a March 16 referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.
On March 17, the Crimean parliament declared independence from Ukraine after 96.77 percent of Crimeans voted in favor of rejoining Russia in a referendum held on the previous.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law legislation on the accession of Crimea after both houses of the parliament unanimously approved it.
The UN General Assembly ( UNGA) adopted a resolution, affirming its commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and urging all parties to strive for peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis "through direct political dialogue."
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 Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) signs documents as Sergei Naryshkin (R), speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower parliament house, and Valentina Matviyenko, head of the Federation Council, look on during a ceremony in Moscow's Kremlin March 21, 2014. |
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law legislation on the accession of Crimea after both houses of the parliament unanimously approved it. "I signed several decrees today, including the decree on the formation of one more federal district, the Crimean federal district," Putin said following theceremony on signing the decree on the accession. "We have a lot of work ahead on Crimea's adaptation and on its joining Russia's legal system, the Russian economy and the social sphere," Putin added. [Read more] |
 Ukraine recalls troops in Crimea |
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US United States redoubled efforts to put pressure on Russia for its takeover of Crimea. |
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*Obama announced new sanctions against senior Russian officials and a bank in a move to "impose additional costs" on Russia. |
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*The US Senate voted to advance the Ukraine aid bill which would grant loan assistance to the crisis-stricken eastern European country and ratify reform measures for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). |
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EU The EU leaders decided to expand its sanctions against Russia by by adding 12 more person on the blacklist with travel ban and assets freeze and canceling the EU-Russia summit, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said Friday. The decision of expanding sanctions against Russia was made by the EU 28 member states' leaders who gathered in Brussels for the bloc's spring summit, used to be focused on economic issues but eclipsed by the Ukraine crisis. |
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Russia |
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 A participant in a rally in support of Crimea joining Russia, holds a Russian flag in Red Square in Moscow, March 18, 2014. |
 A man holds a banner with text "we are for peace" on rally dedicated to accession Crimea to Russia on the Red Square in Moscow, March 18, 2014. |
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China |
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The Chinese side has raised a three-point proposal, hoping all the parties involved will seek maximum common ground and avoid going to extremes again, Xi said, adding that the most urgent issue at present is to find a solution to the crisis. |
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China urges restraint in Ukraine |
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UN |
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US The US government stepped up pressure on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych amid the newly-erupted violence in Kiev, warning of sanctions. |
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* US President Barack Obama said he condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms and warned of consequences if it continued. |
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* In a phone call, US Vice President Joe Biden urged Yanukovych "to take immediate and tangible steps to work with the opposition on a path forward that addresses the legitimate aspirations of the Ukrainian people," according to a statement issued by Biden's office. |
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* US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was ready to impose sanctions like asset freezes and visa bans on those blamed for the bloodshed. |
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* President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, was asked on US television about the possibility of Russia sending troops to Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin had hoped Yanukovich would keep closely allied to Moscow. "That would be a grave mistake," Rice said. "It's not in the interests of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see a country split. It's in nobody's interest to see violence return and the situation escalate." |
New Yorkers gather to call for peace in Ukraine
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 Children hold up signs during a protest across the street from the Ukraine Consulate in the Manhattan borough of New York February 23, 2014.
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 A man holds up a sign declaring Viktor Yankovych a mass murders during a protest in New York February 23, 2014.
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EU
* European Council PresidentHerman Van Rompuy said the 28-nation EU, at an emergency meeting, would impose asset freezes and visa bans on those blamed for the bloodshed.
* The European Investment Bank, the EU's soft-loan arm, said it had frozen its activities in Ukraine due to the violence.
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* German Chancellor Angela Merkel said targeted sanctions against Ukraine's leaders would show the EU was serious in pressing for a political solution. She made clear they were talking to all sides in the crisis, including Russia. Merkel said she and Putin had spoken by phone and agreed to do everything to avoid an escalation of violence. |
* EU Leaders urge end of violence in Ukraine
The prime ministers of the Visegrad Group, which includes Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, called for an end to the violence in Ukraine.
Leaders of the group said they were calling on Europe to assist both the Ukrainian government and the opposition in finding a common ground.
Russia
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* In Russia, where Putin had wanted Ukraine as a key part in a union of ex-Soviet states, the finance minister said the next tranche of a $15-billion loan package agreed in December would not be paid, at least before a new government is formed. |
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* Russian President Vladimir Putin and Yanukovich spoke by telephone during the bloodiest night of Feb 19 and both denounced the events as an coup attempt, a Kremlin spokesman said. |
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China
* China urges Ukraine to resolve crisis
China urged the two opposing sides in Ukraine to exercise maximum restraint and seek a resolution within the legal framework.
China hopes that the international community will make positive efforts and play a constructive role in stabilizing the situation in Ukraine.
United Nations
* UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed shock at the "unacceptable" violence and called for "the immediate renewal of genuine dialogue leading to rapid results", UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "Preventing further instability and bloodshed is a paramount priority."
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"What is happening in Ukraine is unspeakable, unacceptable, intolerable," French President Francois Hollande told a joint news conference.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State John Kerry the opposition had "seized power" by force by ignoring an EU-brokered truce that would have left Yanukovich in office for the time being.