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Ukraine is drawing up plans to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea, Kiev's security chief says.
Andriy Parubiy said they wanted to move them "quickly and efficiently" to mainland Ukraine.
Earlier, pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases - including Ukraine navy's HQ - in Crimea. Kiev says its navy chief has been detained.
It comes a day after Crimean leaders signed a treaty with Moscow absorbing the peninsula into Russia.
A referendum in Crimea on Sunday, approving its split from Ukraine, came nearly a month after Kiev's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was replaced by Western-leaning interim authorities.
In modern times, Moscow has staged three major invasions: Hungary in November 1956 and Czechoslovakia in August 1968, when the Communist governments there began showing dangerously Western tendencies; and Afghanistan in December 1979, when the pro-Communist regime was on the point of collapse.
These were huge and brutal operations, involving large numbers of tanks, and sometimes great bloodshed.
The takeover of Crimea has been completely different. This was an infiltration, not an invasion. And unlike in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan it was welcomed by a large proportion of the local population.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called the crisis in Crimea "the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War".
'Demilitarised zone'
Mr Parubiy, in a news conference, set out more details on Kiev's position in light of the events in Crimea.
He said arrangements were now being set up to introduce visas for Russian nationals travelling to Ukraine.
And he said Kiev was seeking UN support to "proclaim Crimea a demilitarised zone", which would involve the withdrawal of Russian troops and the "relocation of Ukrainian troops to continental Ukraine as well as facilitate evacuation of all the civilian population who are unwilling to remain on the occupied territory".
Ukraine is also leaving the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance, and is preparing for military exercises with the US and the UK, Mr Parubiy added.
With reference to plans to withdraw troops and their families, Ukraine's interim Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya told the BBC that they would not be forced to leave if they did not want to.
But he said: "The situation is unpredictable and uncontrolled sometimes, so that's why there is a danger also for the civilians".
Meanwhile, a deadline of 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) set by Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov for the release of navy chief Serhiy Hayduk has passed.
Mr Turchynov earlier said that unless Mr Hayduk and "all the other hostages - both military and civilian ones - were released, the authorities would carry out an adequate response... of a technical and technological nature".
It is not clear exactly what he means, but it could involve the electricity or water that Ukraine supplies to Crimea, the BBC's David Stern in Kiev suggests.
Pro-Russian crowds broke into the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol
They removed Ukrainian symbols including this gate
Ukrainian flags have been removed and replaced with Russian ones
Many Ukrainian officers left the base, although some said they would not surrender
Kiev said Mr Hayduk was detained soon after Ukraine's naval headquarters was stormed by some 200 pro-Russian activists, some armed, in Sevastopol - the port city which is also home to Russia's Black Sea fleet.
They were filmed going through offices, removing Ukrainian insignia and replacing Ukraine's flag with the Russian tricolour.
There were cheers from the crowd when Russia's Black Sea Fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko arrived and entered the building.
A handful of Ukrainian servicemen have refused to surrender. One told the BBC's Mark Lowen that they had been told to stay overnight to protect the equipment but fully expected to be told by Kiev in the morning to withdraw.
Footage shows the head of Ukraine state TV being beaten until he signs his own resignation letter
Ukraine's navy base in Novo-Ozyorne in west Crimea was also infiltrated after a tractor was used to ram the front gates. Some 50 Ukrainian servicemen were seen filing out of the base.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh and First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema reportedly tried to enter Crimea to defuse tensions but were prevented from doing so.
'Clear warning'
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's constitutional court approved the treaty absorbing Crimea into the Russian Federation. The treaty now only needs ratifying by parliament which correspondents say it is certain to do.
21 Nov 2013: President Viktor Yanukovych abandons an EU deal
Dec: Pro-EU protesters occupy Kiev city hall and Independence Square
20-21 Feb 2014: At least 88 people killed in Kiev clashes
22 Feb: Mr Yanukovych flees; parliament removes him and calls election
27-28 Feb: Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in Crimea. Parliament, under siege, appoints pro-Moscow Sergei Aksyonov a PM
6 Mar: Crimea's parliament votes to join Russia
16 Mar: Crimea voters choose to secede in disputed referendum
17 Mar: Crimean parliament declares independence and formally applies to join Russia
18 Mar: Russian and Crimean leaders sign deal in Moscow to join the region to Russia
In an emotionally charged speech on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Crimea had "always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia".
Meanwhile, shocking footage has emerged of MPs from Ukraine's far-right Svoboda party roughing up Oleksandr Panteleymonov, the acting chief executive of the state broadcaster, over his decision to broadcast the treaty ceremony in the Kremlin.
The crisis in Crimea is expected to dominate a meeting of European Union leaders who meet in Brussels on Thursday.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the EU must send "a very clear warning" to Russia, raising the possibility of further sanctions against Moscow. He also said the G8 group should discuss whether to expel Russia "if further steps are taken".
Moscow said any expansion of sanctions was "unacceptable and will not remain without consequences".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is heading to the region. He will meet Mr Putin in Moscow on Thursday and Ukraine's interim leaders in Kiev on Friday.
Pro-Russian forces effectively took over Crimea - with its predominantly ethnic Russian population - after Mr Yanukovych fled Ukraine on 22 February following protests in which more than 80 people were killed.
Are you in the region? Email us [email protected] adding 'Crimea' in the subject heading and include your contact details.
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George Osborne has unveiled measures to boost the income of pensioners and savers hit by low interest rates.
The amount people can save tax-free in Isas is to rise, while pensioners also get a higher interest savings option.
People will also no longer have to use their pension pot to buy annuities.
The chancellor froze petrol duty, cut bingo tax from 20% to 10%, froze spirits and cider duty and cut a further 1p from a pint of beer - but put the price of cigarettes up.
Labour leader Ed Miliband dismissed the Budget as full of the "same old Tory tricks" and said millions of people were worse off under the coalition government.
Measures announced in Mr Osborne's fifth Budget speech include:
The amount workers earn before income tax to go up by £500 to £10,500
An extra £140m for repairs and maintenance to flood defences and £200m for potholes
Scrapping inheritance tax for members of the emergency services who "give their lives protecting us"
Reform of air passenger duty so all long haul flights carry the same tax rate as currently charged for flights to USA
The "surprise" which was the focus of speculation ahead of the 55-minute speech came at the end as Mr Osborne said cash and share Isas were to be merged into a single New Isa with an annual tax-free savings limit of £15,000 from 1 July. The limit for Junior Isas will be raised to £4,000.
Pensioners will have the freedom to cash in as much or as little of their pension pot as they want, removing the need to buy an annuity (an annuity is effectively a bond which pays out a fixed income for the rest of your life).
Mr Osborne also outlined a new Pensioner Bond savings scheme to be available from January to all people over 65, paying interest rates of 2.8% for one-year bonds and 4% for three-year bonds.
He said the changes - due to come into law by April next year - were "the most far-reaching reform to the taxation of pensions since the regime was introduced in 1921".
The cap on the amount of Premium Bonds a person can own will rise from £30,000 to £40,000 in June and £50,000 in 2015. The number of £1m winners will also be doubled.
David Cameron and Danny Alexander enjoy a George Osborne joke
There was disappointment for those wanting to see a big rise in the starting point for the higher rate of tax - Mr Osborne said the threshold would rise from £41,450 to £41,865 next month, and then by another below-inflation 1% to £42,285 next year.
During his speech, which comes two months before the European elections and 14 months before the next General Election, Mr Osborne unveiled plans to support economic recovery - including tax breaks to boost productivity, exports and manufacturing.
He said Britain was growing at a faster rate than any other advanced economy - revising growth forecasts up to 2.7% in 2014 - but he warned the job of recovery was "far from done".
He told MPs: "The message from this Budget is: you have earned it, you have saved it, and this government is on your side, whether you're on a low or middle income, whether you're saving for your home, for your family or for your retirement.
"The forecasts I've presented show: growth up; jobs up; and the deficit down.
"With the help of the British people we're turning our country around. We're building a resilient economy.
"This is a Budget for the makers, the doers, and the savers."
Clegg 'pleased'
He said the Office for Budget Responsibility was forecasting that the economy would overtake its pre-crisis peak later this year.
The deficit - the difference between the government's spending and the money it collects from things such as taxes - would be lower than expected this year at 6.6%, he said.
Labour leader Ed Miliband: "The working people of Britain are worse off under the Tories"
And he said the government was on track to balance the books in 2018/19.
Labour leader Ed Miliband - in his Budget response - said: "The chancellor spoke for nearly an hour but he did not mention one central fact - the working people of Britain are worse off under the Tories."
He added: "Whose recovery is it under the Tories? Under them it is a recovery for the few, not the many.
"We know what their long term plan is, tax cuts for the richest whilst everyone else gets squeezed."
Labour has pledged that if it wins the next election, it will reinstate the 10p tax rate for low earners and raise the top rate of tax to 50p for those earning more than £150,000 a year.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said he was "very pleased" with the Budget - particularly the pension and income tax changes.
On plans to raise the point at which income tax starts to above £10,000, the deputy PM said: "I am especially pleased that we have over-delivered on that particular Lib Dem manifesto pledge."
John Cridland, director general of business group the CBI, said the Budget would "put wind in the sails of business investment, especially for manufacturers".
"Failed test'
But TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady described it as a "highly political short-term Budget that continued the Chancellor's project to shrink the state and help the rich".
SNP Treasury spokesman at Westminster, Stewart Hosie, said the Budget - the last before September's Scottish independence referendum - proved George Osborne had "failed on every single one of the tests which he set for himself" in 2010.
"The Tory/Liberal coalition are still trying to balance the books on the back of the poor," he added.
Plaid Cymru's leader at Westminster, Elfyn Llwyd, welcomed plans to boost capital investment but said there was "little cheer" for small firms.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "I don't think this government has unleashed the full potential of British business.
"We will finish up at the end of the five years of this coalition government with our national debt having risen by 40%, and that must mean, the original objective of the coalition has failed."
There was some light relief as Labour's Ed Miliband and Ed Balls suggested the education secretary was "hiding" on the "naughty step"
Michael Gove, who highlighted in a weekend interview the number of Etonians in the PM's circle, laughs at Labour's suggestion he had been banished
David Cameron also seemed to enjoy the joke about his friend's choice of seat in the Commons
In Michael Gove's defence, the Commons was packed, so he might not have had much of a choice of seat
Do you have a Budget question for one of our experts? Email us at[email protected]adding 'Budget' in the subject heading and including your contact details.
Andy Coulson is one of seven people on trial at the Old Bailey
An ex-News of the World journalist was told by editor Andy Coulson he would get his job back if he "kept silent" about the extent of phone hacking at the paper, the Old Bailey has heard.
Former royal editor Clive Goodman told the court the promise was made after his arrest for phone hacking in 2006.
The defendant, who was jailed for the illegal practice in 2007, said Mr Coulson had told him: "All you've got to do is say you were a lone wolf."
Both men deny the charges against them.
They are accused of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office, while Mr Coulson also denies conspiracy to hack phones.
'Off the reservation'
The jury heard that six days after Mr Goodman's 2006 arrest, he met Mr Coulson at a cafe, and he was told all he had to do was "explain to a court that 'I had gone', in Andy's words, 'off the reservation'".
"He said, 'All you've got to do is say you were a lone wolf'," Mr Goodman told the court.
Mr Goodman said the then editor had promised him that if he pleaded guilty and "made it clear I had acted alone" he could return to a job at the NoW as a writer or sub-editor.
He said Mr Coulson had also promised his family would be looked after.
"I thought it was pretty low to involve my family," said Mr Goodman, 56, of Addlestone, Surrey, who is giving evidence for a fourth day.
At one point, said the BBC's Robin Brant, who is in court, Mr Goodman appeared close to tears.
Clive Goodman was arrested on 8 August 2006
Mr Goodman also claimed a News International lawyer told him, at a meeting in November following his arrest, that he would not be dismissed "as long as you don't implicate other people".
And in a meeting in December that year, Mr Goodman said the same lawyer - who cannot be named for legal reasons - used a "crude carrot and stick" to persuade him not to implicate any other NoW "executives".
The meeting happened shortly after Mr Goodman pleaded guilty to phone hacking.
'Felt threatened'
Mr Goodman said that, during discussions at the meeting, he "fully expected to be sacked" from the newspaper after being sentenced.
He went on to say the lawyer interrupted him and said: "It will only happen if you blame others. If you do that you can't really expect Andy [Coulson] to take you back."
Later, in an email to his lawyer, Henri Brandman, Mr Goodman said. "I felt more threatened by the message he [the NI lawyer] was asked to deliver today than I have been by much of the prosecution case."
Mr Goodman has previously told the Old Bailey his former boss agreed in 2005 to payments that led to three phones in the royal household being hacked.
He told Wednesday's hearing he made it clear to Mr Brandman that he had not operated alone.
"The editor had opened up a stream of revenue for the [phone-hacking] project, I didn't feel comfortable taking the blame," he said.
Mr Goodman said that after he was bailed he downloaded emails he said would prove others were involved in hacking.
He said he did so because he was worried he would be blamed for the activities of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was jailed alongside him in 2007 for phone hacking.
"Lots of people at the NoW were involved - I was the one who was caught," Mr Goodman went on. "Andy Coulson actually set up the payments to facilitate all of this."
'Pretty cross'
As his evidence ended, Mr Goodman said he had felt "some pain" in giving evidence about his former editor.
He said that until his release following a four-month sentence, he had been "pretty sore, pretty cross, at the way I had been treated by someone who had been close to me - pretty cross at News International and pretty cross at the NoW".
But he said his time in prison had allowed him to "work all that stuff out".
Mr Goodman said he now harboured no ill feeling towards Mr Coulson.
UK police probing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are seeking an intruder who sexually abused five girls in Portugal between 2004 and 2006.
Detectives say the attacks happened in holiday villas occupied by UK families in the Algarve.
The man, described as tanned with dark hair, is suspected of breaking in to 12 properties from 2004 to 2010.
Madeleine was three when she went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, in May 2007.
The five girls - aged between seven and 10 - were sexually assaulted in their beds.
On one of these occasions, the man assaulted two girls in one villa.
'Serious offences'
Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood said the man had an "unhealthy interest in young white female children" - and tracing him was a priority.
"We need to establish the identity of this man," DCI Redwood said.
Two families said the intruder had worn a distinctive burgundy long-sleeved top
"These offences are very serious and no one has been charged in connection with them. We also need to eliminate this man from our enquiries and ascertain whether these offences are linked to Madeleine's disappearance."
Police said the man was bare-chested in some of the attacks, and some witnesses said he had a pot belly. Three victims said he had a "noticeable odour".
Two of the families said the intruder had worn a distinctive burgundy long-sleeved top, and one family said the top had a white circle on the back.
The man was said to have spoken English slowly, with a foreign accent.
While not identical, many aspects of the sexual assaults were similar, police said.
In most of the cases, the intruder appeared in the early hours of the morning and there were no signs of forced entry to the properties.
The suspect may have been in the villa or looking around for some time before committing the offences or being disturbed, either by a parent coming in or the child waking up, officers said.
He remained calm even when disturbed, they added.
The incidents had previously been discounted by Portuguese investigators because they were spread over a wide geographical area and there had been no apparent attempts at abduction.
DCI Andy Redwood says he needs to hear from other families who may have been affected
Four of the 12 break-ins took place in Carvoeiro, two in Praia da Luz - where the McCanns had been staying - and six in Vale da Parra and Praia da Gale.
There are currently 38 people classed as "persons of interest" linked with the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance.
Detectives are also sifting through details of 530 sex offenders whose whereabouts are unknown.
Of those, 59 are classed as a high priority, and some of those are British.
Police 'frustration'
Scotland Yard launched a new investigation - codenamed Operation Grange - into Madeleine's disappearance last July, two years into a review of the case, and made renewed appeals for information.
A high-profile campaign run by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, and a Portuguese police investigation had so far failed to locate the missing child.
The search for Madeleine was given fresh impetus in October when a BBC Crimewatch appeal that aired in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands prompted 5,000 calls.
Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday home while parents Kate and Gerry McCann dined at a nearby restaurant
In January, British detectives flew to Portugal and spoke to local police officers there.
DCI Redwood said: "This is an offender who has got a very, very unhealthy interest in young, white, female children who he is attacking whilst they are on holiday in their beds.
"It is really critical for us to identify this offender and prove or disprove whether he was involved in Madeleine's disappearance."
Investigators in the UK have so far sent three international letters of request to Portuguese authorities over the inquiry in to Madeleine's disappearance.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said the slow legal process had caused "frustration".
"We know what we want to do and we are ready to go with that. But the process is the process," he said.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCann family, said: "Kate and Gerry still believe that Madeleine is alive and out there to be found, and that is why they are so pleased that the British police are doing such a good job on this."
The FBI is aiding the Malaysian government's search for a Malaysia Airlines jet missing for more than a week.
The US investigators are believed to be helping the Malaysians examine a home flight simulator belonging to one of the pilots of flight MH370 for clues.
The pilot is said to have deleted some files from the computer simulator.
Teams from 26 countries are trying to find flight MH370, which went missing on 8 March with 239 people on board.
The flight was headed from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Dragged away
Relatives were forcibly removed while trying to speak to journalists
The FBI, through its legal office in Kuala Lumpur, "continues to engage with appropriate Malaysian authorities and provide support where necessary to the Malaysian government in their investigation of the missing aircraft," according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
The agency would not comment on the specifics of their investigation, nor what had been communicated to its investigators by Malaysian authorities.
On Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Malaysia was also speaking to US aviation and transport accident investigation agencies.
"We are finding that the level of cooperation with the Malaysian government is solid, and we are working closely with the Malaysians as well as our other international partners in this effort to find out what happened to the plane and why it happened," he said.
A US law enforcement official told Reuters the Malaysian officials gave the FBI access to data generated by both pilots including data from a hard drive attached to the captain's flight simulator and electronic media used by a co-pilot.
But the official stressed there was no guarantee the FBI analysis would lead to further clues.
Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu said some data was deleted on 3 February from the simulator found at Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's home and that investigators were trying to recover the deleted files.
The acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, stressed the captain should be considered innocent until proven guilty and that members of his family were co-operating with the investigation. Deleting files would not necessarily be suspicious, particularly if it were done to free up memory space.
The relatives of passengers on flight MH370 kicked and shouted as they were being escorted out by police and other staff
The Malaysian authorities have said the evidence so far suggests the Boeing-777 was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca with its communications systems disabled. They are unsure what happened next.
Investigators have identified two giant arcs of territory spanning the possible positions of the plane about seven hours after take-off.
This is based on its last faint signal to a satellite - an hourly "handshake'' broadcast even when communications are switched off. The arcs stretch up as far as Kazakhstan in central Asia and deep into the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia.
Investigators are considering the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board.
Earlier on Wednesday, frustration with the lack of progress boiled over into chaotic scenes as Chinese relatives were dragged away from journalists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital.
They were attempting to speak to Chinese journalists outside the daily press conference.
A BBC reporter was pushed away from the relatives, who were carrying banners criticising the handling of the case.
One of the relatives, a middle-aged woman, cried: "They give different messages every day! Where's the flight now? Find our relatives! Find the aircraft!"
The Malaysian government said later it regretted the scenes and ordered an investigation, saying "one can only imagine the anguish they are going through".
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17:16
Tieng Anh Vui
