MOSCOW: The Russian Upper House of parliament has allowed sending the country’s armed forces to Ukraine’s autonomous republic of Crimea, Russian media reported on Saturday.
The approval came after President Vladimir Putin requested an approval of the Senators to use Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine to ensure peace and order in the region until the socio-political situation in the country is stabilized.
Earlier in the day, the speaker of the Russian State Duma Council Valentina Matvienko said that the current circumstances in Ukraine make such a move possible. She said that the final decision to send troops to Crimea lies with the Russian president as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
“It’s possible in this situation, complying with a request by the Crimean government, even to bring a limited contingent of our troops to ensure the safety of the Black Sea Fleet and the Russian citizens living on Crimean territory. The decision is for the president, the chief military commander, to make, of course. But today, taking the situation into account, even that variant can’t be excluded. We need to protect the people,” Matvienko said.
