Putin formally decrees Crimea an 'independent state'

Russian President Vladimir Putin officially recognized Crimea Monday as a sovereign independent state, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, in a rebuff to new economic sanctions from the West and charges by the United States that Crimea's referendum on independence was illegal. The move followed a formal request from Crimea's parliament Monday calling for annexation by Russia, and the rejection of the Crimean vote by the White House and European Union, which issued a sanctions list against top Russian officials. The decree said Putin recognized Crimea as a "sovereign and independent" state as a result of the "will of the people of Crimea" as expressed at in Sunday's referendum, the Russian news agency reported. The presidential press service said the decree would take effect immediately. Crimean lawmakers were already in Moscow to ask the Russia parliament to annex Crimea, something that the United States and Europe say is a violation of international law and the Ukraine constitution. In Kiev, the parliament endorsed a plan to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists to counter Russia's "blatant aggression" in Crimea and to protect possible Russian incursions in southern and eastern parts of the country The country's defense minister Andriy Parubiy says 40,000 have volunteered to join the government's new national guard, set up just days ago. Many paramilitary groups such as Pravy Sektor, an extreme-right group present at anti-government protests that toppled Ukraine's former president in February have also been independently preparing for war. "What has taken place is a seizure, blatant aggression, the seizure by Russia of parts of the territory of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol," Parubiy told the chamber before the vote before the 450-seat assembly. Europe denounced the vote as well. "The referendum is illegal and illegitimate and its outcome will not be recognized," Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission said in a joint statement Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would address both houses of the Russian parliament on Tuesday to say what Russia should do. Russian troops have fanned out into Ukraine from a leased naval base on the Black Sea, and thousands of Russian troops are drilling on the Ukraine border, "Personally, I think there will be war," said Oleg Hadimov, who was collecting donations in Kiev for those injured during the city's winter protests against Russian-backed former President Viktor Yanukovych. "The Ukrainian army is not suited (to a fight against Russia). But the people will prevail." The diplomatic and parliamentary steps on all fronts followed the referendum Sunday in the semi-autonomous Crimea region in which. according to Crimea's election committee, 97% of voters backed a a break from Ukraine and a union between the largely ethnic-Russian peninsula and the huge neighboring country. Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov said on Twitter that the region would move to Russian time starting March 30. A delegation of Crimean lawmakers was set to travel to Moscow on Monday for negotiations on how to proceed. Russian lawmakers have suggested that formally annexing Crimea is just a matter of time. The United States and the European Union on Monday both issued new sanctions against Russia, whose troops have been occupying Crimea for several weeks.