Russian upper house approves use of troops on Ukrainian soil

Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - 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 normalization of the socio-political situation in that country." It said the decision took effect immediately. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly, Editing by Timothy Heritage)