Ukraine pulls forces out of Crimea as Russia takes over military bases

Summary

Here is a summary of developments over the past 24 hours. 

• Ukraine is pulling its forces out of Crimea, acting president Oleksander Turchinov said on Monday, in the face of what he called "threats to the lives and health of our service personnel" and their families.

• It came after Russian troops took over a Ukrainian naval base in Feodosia, Crimea, one of the few military facilities still flying a Ukrainian flag.

• The G7 nations have suspended their 16-year collaboration with Russia until Moscow "changes course" over Ukraine and threatened intensified sanctions in the event of any Russian military moves in the region.

• In a move intended to underline Russian isolation, leaders from the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan met in The Hague as the G7 for the first time since Russia was first brought into the group in 1998 to seal east-west co-operation.

• The joint statement, which is being called the 'Hague Declaration',said they would not attend a planned G8 summit in Sochi in June but would convene in Brussels instead. The group's foreign ministers would also boycott a planned meeting in Moscow in April.

• A bill providing economic assistance to Ukraine and imposing sanctions over Russia's seizure of Crimea cleared a procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Monday, as backers attempted to win passage of the legislation.

• Nato's most senior military commander has said that Russia had amassed a large military force on Ukraine's eastern border, and warned that Moldova's separatist Trans-Dniester region could be the Kremlin's next target.

We are wrapping up the blog for now.

10.45pm GMT

Despite a stalled stalled US aid package for Ukraine finally beginning to emerge from Congress, a wider package which also includes further sanctions against Russia still faces an uphill struggle in the House of Representatives.

The Guardian's Dan Roberts reports that Republican senator John McCain warned that further delays would fuel a Russian perception that the US was not serious about helping Ukraine resist further territorial aggression.

McCain urged:

Pass this legislation as soon as possible and fight about less important issues later on. If we get hung up for another week because of our failure to act it sends exactly the wrong signals.

I believe [Putin] is watching carefully for the reaction of the West and how we are going to assist the Ukraine.

10.27pm GMT

A bill providing economic assistance to Ukraine and imposing sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine has cleared a procedural hurdle in theUS Senate, as backers attempted to win passage of the legislation later this week.

Reuters reports: 

By a vote of 78-17, the Senate laid the groundwork for debating a bill that would back a $1 billion loan guarantee for the government in Kiev, provide $150 million in aid for Ukraine and neighboring countries and require sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians responsible for corruption, human rights abuses or undermining stability in Ukraine.