ພາບຫລ້າສຸດຈາກ ຢູເຄຣນກັບໄຄຣເມຍ

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu meets with, from left, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, Speaker of Crimean legislature Vladimir Konstantinov and Sevastopol mayor Alexei Chalyi at a military base in Sevastopol, Crimea, March 24, 2014.

People line up to apply for Russian passports at a passport office in Sevastopol, Crimea, March 24, 2014.

A man carries a placard with currency rates at a currency exchange office in Sevastopol, Ukraine, March 24, 2014.

Ukrainian servicemen stand guard at a checkpoint near the town of Armyansk in Kherson region adjacent to Crimea, March 23, 2014.

A man takes photos of his girlfriend next to Ukrainian riot police guarding the regional administration building following a pro-Russian rally in Donetsk, March 23, 2014.

People hold Ukrainian, Crimean and Crimean Tatar flags during rally in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity, in Kyiv's Independence Square, March 23, 2014.

A protester holds a sign depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin as he attends an anti-war rally in Independence Square in Kyiv, March 23, 2014.

Hundreds remain encamped in central Kyiv's Independence Square, March 23, 2014. (Steve Herman/VOA)