Ukraine crisis: Putin gets OK to use force outside Russia

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, YURAS KARMANAU and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian lawmakers authorized President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside the country. That could presage a broader attack on Ukraine. The U.S. is now calling the deployment of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine an invasion. Putin also laid out three conditions to end the crisis that has threatens to plunge Europe back into war. He called for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, an end to Ukraine’s NATO membership bid and a halt to weapons shipments there. The West has decried Russia’s annexation of Crimea as a violation of international law and has rejected permanently barring Ukraine from NATO.