This leaked phone conversation between EU foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton and Estonia's foreign minister Urmas Paet reveals that the snipers in Ukraine that fired on protesters were actually from the new coalition government, and Western diplomats... [...]

Seumas Milne: The external struggle to dominate Ukraine has put fascists in power and brought the country to the brink of conflict. Diplomatic pronouncements are renowned for hypocrisy and double standards. But western denunciations of Russian intervention in Crimea have reached new depths of self parody. [...]

According to an early March poll the Russian President's rating remains at its highest in the last two years and researchers list the Sochi Olympics and moves for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis as possible reasons. [...]

The self-proclaimed government in Kiev is reportedly planning to cut pensions by 50 percent as part of unprecedented austerity measures to save Ukraine from default. With an "€œempty treasury"€, reduction of payments might take place in March. [...]

The Crimean parliament has voted for the region to join Russia. The decision will only come in force if approved by the Crimeans at a referendum which will be held in 10 days. Crimean MPs voted on Thursday for the region to “to become part of the Russian Federation as its constituent territory,” says the text of the regional parliament’s statement. [...]

Ukrainian and Western refusal to answer Moscow'€™s hard questions explains Russia'€™s tough stance on the crisis in Kiev. Ignoring Russian concerns is a western habit adopted after the Soviet Union’s collapse; when NATO bombed Yugoslavia; during the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, and the US push to install an anti-missile shield over Europe that can target Russia. [...]

Three of the top presenters scheduled to speak at a technology conference in Texas next week will deliver their remarks remotely due to leak investigations that have left them all unable or unwilling to come to the United States. [...]

Diverting from the typical Western line against "Russia's invasion of Crimea," former Ohio congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said it was driven by covert action by the United States. [...]

Ukraine'€™s statement at the UN that "€˜16,000 Russian soldiers had been deployed"€™ across Crimea sparked a MSM feeding frenzy that steadfastly ignored any hard facts that got in their way. Especially unwelcome is the fact that the so-called ‘invasion force’ has been there for 15 years already. [...]

Russia will not go to war with the people of Ukraine, but will use its troops to protect citizens, if radicals with clout in Kiev now try to use violence against Ukrainian civilians, particularly ethnic Russians, Putin told the media. [...]

The snipers who shot at protesters and police in Kiev were allegedly hired by Maidan leaders, according to a leaked phone conversation between the EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Estonian foreign affairs minister, which has emerged online. [...]

Russia may also dump the dollar if sanctions move forward. A Kremlin economist, Sergei Glazyev, told RIA Novosti the Russian government may not repay loans owed to the financial cartel if the United States imposes sanctions on the country in response to the Crimea intervention. [...]

Gas Wars: The untold story driving the crisis. The untold story behind the crisis is that this is an energy tug of war being fought between Russia and the west, with Ukraine caught in the middle. [...]

Thousands gathered in the Russian cities of Novocherkassk, Bryansk, and Belgorod to support the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. "We don'€™t abandon our people," said banners held by those who sympathized with residents of the crisis-torn country. [...]

Call for military assistance to the coup government in Kyiv. On Sunday Republicans mounted attacks against President Obama over what they consider his inappropriate response to the crisis in Ukraine. Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russians have “been running circles around us.” [...]

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin says ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has sent a letter to Putin asking him to use military force in Ukraine to restore law and order. [...]

As President Putin weighs using military forces in a Ukraine plunging deeper into political turmoil, Alexander Mercouris, international law expert, tells RT that the presence Russia’s forces could be a restraining factor for all the parties involved. [...]

An estimated 675,000 Ukrainians left for Russia in January and February, fearing the "revolutionary chaos"€ brewing in Ukraine, Russia's Federal Border Guard Service said. Officials fear a growing humanitarian crisis. On Sunday, the border guard service said Russian authorities have identified definite signs that a “humanitarian catastrophe” is brewing in Ukraine. [...]

The US Secretary of State spoke today of the unacceptability of invading a sovereign country on phony pretexts in order to assert one’s own interests in the 21st century. But no, he was not speaking about the United States, as one might have thought. [...]