Russian President Vladimir Putin secured his parliament's authority on Saturday to invade Ukraine after troops seized control of the Crimea peninsula and pro-Moscow demonstrators hoisted flags above government buildings in two eastern cities.

• March 1, 2014

Armed men took control of two airports in the Crimea region on Friday in what Ukraine's government described as an invasion and occupation by Russian forces, raising tension between Moscow and the West.

• February 28, 2014

Waving the Russian flag and chanting "Russia! Russia!", protesters in Crimea have become the last major bastion of resistance to Ukraine's new rulers.

• February 27, 2014

Russia must be transparent about military exercises along Ukraine's border and not take any steps that could be misinterpreted or "lead to miscalculation during a delicate time," U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Thursday.

• February 27, 2014

Britain will pay attention to Russian military activities and opposes outside interference in Ukraine, the British defense secretary said on Wednesday after Moscow ordered an urgent drill to test its armed forces across western Russia.

• February 26, 2014

Fugitive Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, ousted after bloody street protests in which demonstrators were shot by police snipers, is wanted on an arrest warrant for mass murder, authorities announced on Monday.

• February 24, 2014

Egypt's government has resigned, the prime minister said on Monday, paving the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic U.S. ally gripped by political strife.

• February 24, 2014

China urged its neighbor Afghanistan on Saturday to embrace an inclusive political solution to its long-running conflict during a rare visit by a top Chinese official, who said the very security of his own country's western regions depended on peace.

• February 22, 2014