Simferopol

Three Indians stranded in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson have been evacuated through Simferopol and Moscow, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

Crimea declared a state of emergency on Sunday after its main electricity power lines from Ukraine were blown up, leaving the Russian-annexed peninsula in darkness after the second such attack in a matter of days.

Several dozen Russian planes including what appeared to be strategic bombers and fighter jets have been spotted in the sky above the Moscow-controlled peninsula of Crimea, witnesses and experts said.

Some 60,000 people waving Russian flags and brandishing posters of President Vladimir Putin took to the streets Thursday in Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in March.

US fast food giant McDonald's said on Friday it was temporarily shutting its three stores in Crimea following the Ukrainian peninsula's annexation by Russia.

Clocks in Crimea and Moscow struck midnight at the same time after the Russian-speaking peninsula jumped on Saturday into the timezone of its new masters.

A young woman opens her office door and is immediately assailed with questions from 40 people trying to crowd in: Crimeans clamouring - some willingly, others obliged to obtain Russian passports.

A Ukrainian serviceman was killed on Tuesday at a Ukrainian base that came under attack in Crimea's main town Simferopol, the first death on the peninsula from a military clash since the region came under Russian control three weeks ago.

Armed police burst into a hotel in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, on Saturday night on the eve of a referendum aimed at deciding whether the Ukrainian region leaves Ukraine and becomes part of Russia.

Pro-Russian leaders in Crimea made final preparations on Saturday for a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine to Moscow, despite the threat of sanctions and condemnation from Western governments.

Pro-Kremlin militants on Tuesday ordered a suspension of all flights in or out of Crimea's main airport in Simferopol except those connecting to Moscow, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

Standing watch in front of Crimea's regional parliament in the capital Simferopol, Konstantin Chaika, a pro-Russian civilian in camouflage gear insists he is a "peaceful man."

Top Russian lawmakers on Friday welcomed the prospect of Crimea joining the country, despite stiffening sanctions on Moscow over the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

UN envoy Robert Serry was detained briefly by unidentified gunmen in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, a spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry told AFP on Wednesday.

Ukraine mobilised for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbour in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.

Three Indians stranded in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson have been evacuated through Simferopol and Moscow, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

Crimea declared a state of emergency on Sunday after its main electricity power lines from Ukraine were blown up, leaving the Russian-annexed peninsula in darkness after the second such attack in a matter of days.

Several dozen Russian planes including what appeared to be strategic bombers and fighter jets have been spotted in the sky above the Moscow-controlled peninsula of Crimea, witnesses and experts said.

Some 60,000 people waving Russian flags and brandishing posters of President Vladimir Putin took to the streets Thursday in Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in March.

US fast food giant McDonald's said on Friday it was temporarily shutting its three stores in Crimea following the Ukrainian peninsula's annexation by Russia.

Clocks in Crimea and Moscow struck midnight at the same time after the Russian-speaking peninsula jumped on Saturday into the timezone of its new masters.

A young woman opens her office door and is immediately assailed with questions from 40 people trying to crowd in: Crimeans clamouring - some willingly, others obliged to obtain Russian passports.

A Ukrainian serviceman was killed on Tuesday at a Ukrainian base that came under attack in Crimea's main town Simferopol, the first death on the peninsula from a military clash since the region came under Russian control three weeks ago.

Armed police burst into a hotel in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, on Saturday night on the eve of a referendum aimed at deciding whether the Ukrainian region leaves Ukraine and becomes part of Russia.

Pro-Russian leaders in Crimea made final preparations on Saturday for a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine to Moscow, despite the threat of sanctions and condemnation from Western governments.

Pro-Kremlin militants on Tuesday ordered a suspension of all flights in or out of Crimea's main airport in Simferopol except those connecting to Moscow, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

Standing watch in front of Crimea's regional parliament in the capital Simferopol, Konstantin Chaika, a pro-Russian civilian in camouflage gear insists he is a "peaceful man."

Top Russian lawmakers on Friday welcomed the prospect of Crimea joining the country, despite stiffening sanctions on Moscow over the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

UN envoy Robert Serry was detained briefly by unidentified gunmen in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, a spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry told AFP on Wednesday.

Ukraine mobilised for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbour in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.