Russia's upper house of parliament on Saturday approved a proposal by President Vladimir Putin to deploy Russian armed forces in Ukraine's Crimea region.

Russia's upper house of parliament on Saturday approved a proposal by President Vladimir Putin to deploy Russian armed forces in Ukraine's Crimea region.

The Federation Council voted overwhelmingly to back a proposal to use "the armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine until the normalisation of the
socio-political situation in that country."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Saturday that the upper house of parliament's vote to allow President

Russian armed forces are said to have taken weapons from a radar base and naval training facility in Ukraine's Crimea region, according to Russian news agency Interfax.