Ukraine troops set to leave Crimea

Russian troops now have control of nearly all military sites in Crimea [EPA]

Ukraine's acting president has announced that the ex-Soviet nation's troops have been given orders to withdraw from Crimea following the peninsula's seizure and annexation by Russia. Acting President Oleksander Turchinov told parliament on Monday that the decision had been taken in the face of "threats to the lives and health of our service personnel" and their families. His comments came after Russian troops entered a key Ukrainian marine base near Feodosia crowning a gradual take-over of Ukrainian military facilities on the peninsula. Russia completed its annexation of Crimea last week, following the February ouster of a Russian-leaning government in Kiev.