Russia showed no signs of backing down Monday even as world leaders threatened sanctions and sternly rebuked the country for sending troops into Ukraine. At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the unfolding crisis, Ukraine's envoy asked for help, saying that Russia had used planes, boats and helicopters to flood the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea with 16,000 troops in the past week. "So far, Ukrainian armed forces have exercised restraint and refrained from active resistance to the aggression, but they are in full operational readiness," Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said. As diplomats at the meeting asked Russia to withdraw its troops and called for mediation to end the crisis, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin insisted his country's aims were preserving democracy, protecting millions of Russians in Ukraine and stopping radical extremists.
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The United States suspends bilateral trade talks with Russia
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Ukraine envoy: Russian has sent 16,000 troops into Crimea
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Russia says Yanukovych asked them to send troops
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Former Ukraine PM asks "all the world" for help in stopping Ukraine from losing Crimea
The Russian envoy read a letter from @placeholder at the U.N. meeting, describing Ukraine as a country "on the brink of civil war," plagued by "chaos and anarchy."