Ukraine orders Crimea military withdrawal

Ukraine's acting president announced on Monday that the ex-Soviet nation's troops have been given orders to withdraw from Crimea following the peninsula's seizure and annexation by Russia. "The national security and defence council has reached a decision, under instructions from the defence ministry, to conduct a redeployment of military units stationed in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," acting president Oleksandr Turchynov told a meeting of top lawmakers, according to AFP.