A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin is one of the steps which would formalise the annexation of Crimea, which was part of Russia until 1954.
Russia’s government has acknowledged for the first time that its economy faces major troubles.
A referendum result shows that 96.77% of voters in Ukraine’s Crimea region have voted to join Russia, according to a government commission.
SA will release last month’s inflation figures, while economists keep tabs on Ukraine since Sunday’s vote by Crimeans to join the Russian Federation.
Russia has vetoed a Security Council draft resolution that declared a referendum on the status of the Crimea region "can have no validity".
Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of provoking a fatal gunfight in the eastern city of Kharkiv overnight.
The occupation of Crimea has left most of the former Soviet republics in Cold War mode.
Leaders of the G7 economies have told Russia to stop its work on a referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region or face action.
Escalting tensions in Ukraine are causing cereal supply disruptions to South Africa and pushing up food prices.
Pro-Russia troops have used gunfire in seizing a Ukraine military base, while Nato has declared early-warning flights around the east.
A senior Russian official appealed to the West after a far-right leader said he planned to run for president in Ukraine.
Russia says any US sanctions imposed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine will boomerang and that Crimea has the right to self-determination.
The external struggle to dominate Ukraine has put fascists in power and brought the country to the brink of conflict.
From the Oscar trial circus to Number One getting booed yet again, we fill you in on all the news you need to know this week.
EU leaders have frozen assets belonging to deposed Ukraine leaders, and have warned Russia of sanctions if they do not pull troops out of Crimea.
Neo-Nazis are in office for the first time in post-war Europe – but they are backed by the US and the West.
The US and Russia have stepped up diplomatic efforts to defuse the Ukraine crisis amid heightened tensions in Crimea.
If the situation in Ukraine has not been addressed appropriately, EU leaders say the organisation might place resctrictions on Russia.
President Vladimir Putin says Russia has reserved the right to use all options in Ukraine, but that Moscow would use force only as a last resort.
Contradicitng his earlier comments, Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych asked for an intervention in Crimea, says Russia’s UN ambassador.
Ukraine’s acting president has called on Moscow to halt the growing military presence in the Crimea region.
Events in Crimea have the potential to turn Ukraine into Europe’s worst security nightmare since the revolutions of 1989.
Arseny Yatseniuk says the announcement to invade Ukraine made by Russia’s Vladimir Putin was not a threat, but "the declaration of war to my country".
Russia’s decision to send troops into Ukraine has added an element of uncertainty to global markets. Here’s what is to look out for this week.
Nato ambassadors were due to meet in Brussels on Sunday as war looms in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Parliament to approve force "in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine".
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited a threat to Russian citizens and servicemen at its Black Sea fleet as a need to send in armed forces.
The US president has warned Russia’s head of state against military action in Ukraine after its new leaders accused it of deploying troops in Crimea.
Defiant crowds may destroy an old regime, but seldom do they build a new one that endures.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has put combat troops on high alert for war near Ukraine in the Kremlin’s most powerful gesture yet.
Ukraine’s presidential website has announced that acting president Oleksander Turchinov has assumed the duties of head of the armed forces.
Ousted Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich is being hunted by police for "mass murder" linked to the revolt against his rule.