U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 at a record high, as fears of a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased and Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was no need to use military force in the Crimea region for now.

• March 4, 2014

President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defense of Russia's actions in Crimea on Tuesday and said he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort, easing market fears that East-West tension over the former Soviet republic could lead to war.

• March 4, 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Ukraine by telephone on Tuesday and their positions on the issue are "close", the Kremlin said.

• March 4, 2014

U.S. lawmakers are considering options such as imposing sanctions on Russia's banks and freezing assets of Russian public institutions and private investors because of Moscow's moves in Ukraine, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, the chairman of the Senate's Europe subcommittee, said on Monday.

• March 3, 2014

Pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the regional government building in east Ukraine's city of Donetsk on Monday, besieging lawmakers as they voted to support the protesters but stopped short of meeting their demands for a split from Kiev.

• March 3, 2014

U.S. stocks tumbled on Monday alongside other risky assets globally as Ukraine and Russia prepared for possible war after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor.

• March 3, 2014

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Saturday that Russian action was a "potentially grave threat" to Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

• March 1, 2014

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