Putin Asks to Deploy Troops in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to officially deploy Russian troops in Ukraine Saturday, defying warnings not to intervene issued a day earlier by his U.S. and other western counterparts.
Though a major escalation in the openness of Russia's commitment, Saturday's move comes as Russian troops and their local allies have already largely taken control of Crimea, a restive province of Ukraine that belonged to Russia until 1954 and remains predominantly pro-Russian.