Western leaders try to halt Russia's advance into Ukrainian territory
Paul Lewis and Spencer Ackerman in Washington, Jon Swaine in New York and agencies-Monday 3 March 2014
US secretary of state John Kerry heads to Kiev as senior officials attempt to defuse crisis in Ukraine
John Kerry is flying to Kiev to meet Ukraine’s new government and will display support for Ukrainian sovereignty, a state official says. Photograph: Stringer/Germany/Reuters
Western leaders are scrambling to defuse the crisis in Ukraine without shots being fired after the US conceded Moscow had "complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula".
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, was due to fly to Kiev overnight in a further attempt to halt Russia's advance into Ukrainian territory, having conceded that Crimea had fallen to Moscow in a bloodless takeover.
