Russia’s upper house of parliament has approved President Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine.

He had asked that Russian forces be used “until the normalisation of the political situation in the country”.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, where many ethnic Russians live.

Kiev has reacted angrily to days of military movements in Crimea, accusing Moscow of trying to provoke the new government into an armed conflict.

President Vladimir Putin submitted the request “in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens”, the Kremlin said.

The BBC’s Richard Galpin in Moscow notes that he refers to the “territory of Ukraine” rather than specifically to Crimea, implying that troops could be used in other pro-Russian parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

‘Provocation’

The request follow days of military activity in Crimea during which unidentified armed men moved in to take over the regional parliament, state television and telecommunications hubs.

Soldiers from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Crimea, are reported to be guarding some administrative buildings and military bases.

Amid the closure of airspace over Crimea’s regional capital Simferopol on Friday evening, there were unconfirmed reports that Russian planes were flying in thousands of troops.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh said on Saturday there are now an extra 6,000 Russian troops in Crimea, alongside an additional 30 armoured vehicles.

Under the agreement governing the presence of the fleet in Crimea, the Russians must co-ordinate all troop movements outside the fleet’s base with the Ukrainian authorities beforehand.

The newly-elected pro-Moscow leader of Crimea, Sergiy Aksyonov, earlier said he had appealed to Mr Putin for help to ensure peace on the peninsula – a request which the Kremlin said it would “not leave unnoticed”.

Events in Crimea have angered the new interim government in Kiev – which does not recognise the province’s new leadership – and has alarmed Western leaders.

Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchynov accused Russia of trying to provoke Kiev into “armed conflict”, but said they would not react.

US President Barack Obama has warned of the “costs” of any Russian intervention in the Ukraine.

Meanwhile, big pro-Russian rallies are being held in several Ukrainian cities outside Crimea.

• In Donetsk, Mr Yanukovych’s traditional stronghold, demonstrators from a crowd of some 7,000 tried unsuccessfully to occupy the regional administration building, raising a Russian tricolour on a nearby flag-post

• In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, scuffles broke out when protesters with Russian flags tried to occupy the regional administration building

• In Mariupol, in the south-east, hundreds of protesters carrying Russian flags gathered outside the city council in eastern and southern Ukraine.

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