-- The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution that affirms Ukraine's territorial integrity.
-- The IMF has announced "a staff-level agreement" with Kyiv on assistance of $14 billion-$18 billion in conjunction with a reform program that will "unlock" up to $27 billion over the next two years, pending final approval next month. Tthe U.S. Congress has also passed an aid bill for Ukraine.
-- Ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced plans to run for president.
-- Members of the Right Sector have been holding a demonstration outside the Ukrainian parliament building to vent their anger at the killing of prominent member Oleksander Muzychkoearlier in the week.
-- Six Ukrainian military officers detained by pro-Russian troops in Crimea have been released, including Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, but five others are still being held captive.
-- Anonymous sources quoted by CNN say U.S. intelligence "concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine."
-- U.S. President Barack Obama, in the keynote speech of his visit to Europe, chided Russia for its use of "brute force" in Ukraine and vowed that a determined alliance of the United States and Europe will prevail over time.
*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
The Russian foreign ministry accuses the West of violating the 1994 Budapest Memorandum by helping Euromaidan stage a "coup."
"The U.S. and the EU actively fomented a coup in Kyiv, acting against Ukraine's political independence and sovereignty."
12:3819.3.2014
Putin wants the future bridge linking Russia to Crimea over the Kerch straight to carry both road and rail traffic.
12:4419.3.2014
The new sign on the Crimean assembly building reads: "State Council of the Crimean Republic."
12:4819.3.2014
From our news desk:
Russia has accused Western states of violating a pledge to respect Ukraine's sovereignty under a 1994 security agreement. In a commentary published on its website, the Foreign Ministry said that by "pandering" to a "state coup" in Kyiv, Western nations had violated the Budapest Memorandum. Under that agreement, the United States, Britain, and Russia guaranteed Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in exchange for Ukraine's commitment to give up its nuclear arsenal after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
12:5019.3.2014
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is currently meeting with the presidents of Lithuania and Latvia to reassure them in the wake of Russia's occupation and "attempted annexation" of Crimea. The visit is part of a two-day regional trip for Biden to meet with Polish officials and the leaders of the three Baltic states. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite called Biden's trip "symbolic" and told him at the start of her meeting in Vilnius's old town that Russia's actions in Ukraine are "alarming." Biden was to meet separately with Latvian President Andris Berzins. The three will then hold a joint meeting.
12:5019.3.2014
"Live in comfort." This banner truly captures the mood in Sevastopol.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, and Latvian President Andris Berzins are holding a press conference following their meeting.
13:0119.3.2014
Reuters quotes Ukrainian Navy Captain Oleksandr Balanyuk as he stands on the street with a bundle of his belongings after being forced to leave his headquarters in Sevastopol:
"There is nothing we can do against the crowd. Absolutely nothing. Everything is hectic and unruled. There were many promises from the Russian side and our side that the base will not be stormed, that all issues will be resolved politically. But as you see now, there was a takeover. No one was sorting out any politics here."
13:0319.3.2014
The head of the EU delegation in Ukraine, Ambassador Jan Tombinski, draws attention to "serious human rights abuses" in Crimea over the past three weeks.
"Reported violations include enforced disappearances, ill-treatment and torture, violent attacks against journalists, restrictions to freedom of the media, freedom of movement and freedom of peaceful assembly."
Tombinski says Crimea is now "at the level of some of the world's most dangerous regions."
13:0819.3.2014
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite calls Russia's actions in Crimea a "direct threat to our regional security" and says all measures must be taken to protect against threats.
