Ukraine puts on a "show" to illustrate its military readiness, as Chris Morris reports. Photo: BBC NEWS

Mr Putin, who signed an order on Monday recognising Crimean independence, also approved a draft bill on the accession.

It comes after a referendum on Sunday in which Crimean officials say 97% of voters backed splitting from Ukraine.

The EU and US have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions.

Travel bans and asset freezes have been imposed on government officials and other figures in Russia, Crimea and Ukraine.

Kiev has appealed to the international community not to recognise the result of the vote, which interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk described as a "circus" carried out at gunpoint.

On Tuesday, Mr Yatsenyuk said that "for the sake of preserving Ukraine's unity and sovereignty", Kiev was prepared to grant "the broadest range of powers" to Ukraine's other mainly Russian-speaking regions in the south and east, which have seen pro-Moscow protests in recent weeks.

In a pre-recorded address on Ukraine's 5 Kanal TV - delivered in Russian - Mr Yatsenyuk said the reforms would give cities the right to run their own police forces and make decisions about education and culture.

The peninsula was taken over by pro-Russian forces in late February after Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia following months of protests, though Russia has always insisted the troops are not under its direct control.

Kiev is also concerned about a build-up of Russian troops on its eastern borders, and has authorised the partial mobilisation of 40,000 troops.

Ratification

Mr Putin is due to address both houses of the Russian parliament in a special session at 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT). A delegation of Crimea's new leaders is also expected to attend.

 

 

Vladimir Putin will address Russia's parliament about the situation in Crimea later

Russian news website Gazeta.ru, quoting sources, says that after the speech, President Putin and the speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, are expected to sign an agreement on Crimea's "entry into the Russian Federation".

Having approved the draft bill, Mr Putin has told MPs "to consider it practical to sign the agreement at the highest level," Russia's Interfax news agency reports.

Once signed, the bill must be approved by the constitutional court and then ratified by parliament.

The process is likely to be completed this week, after which Crimea is expected to be considered a new part of the Russian Federation, with the status of a republic.

In a sign of the wider impact of the Crimean referendum, parliament in the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester announced on Tuesday that it too had appealed to Moscow for the right to join Russia, reports said.

Sanctions

Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine while under Soviet rule in 1954 and much of its population is ethnic Russian.

The results of Sunday's referendum were celebrated by many Crimeans, but the vote was widely criticised by Western leaders and at the UN.

Voters had been asked to choose between joining Russia or having greater autonomy within Ukraine. There was no option for those who wanted the constitutional arrangements to remain unchanged.

Many among Crimea's ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars - about a third of the population - had said they would boycott the vote.

On Monday, the EU and US published separate lists of sanctions in response to Moscow's intervention.

The US list includes Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian deputy prime minister, Valentina Matviyenko, head of the upper house of the Russian parliament, and Mr Yanukovych. Two of Mr Putin's aides, Vladislav Surkov and Sergei Glazyev, are also targeted.

The EU list includes Alexsandr Vitko, commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet which is based in Crimea.

Both lists include Crimea's acting leader, Sergei Aksyonov, and speaker Mr Konstantinov.

Japan has also announced a set of measures "to punish Russia for intervening in Ukraine", Kyodo news agency reported.

But the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says the sanctions have largely been dismissed in Russia, including by those they targeted.

Despite the condemnation, Mr Putin seems intent on pushing ahead very quickly with the annexation of Crimea, he adds.