In Ukraine, over 95 percent of voters in its Crimea region have voted to join Russia after half the votes were counted in a disputed referendum. Crimean leaders says they would apply to join Russia today. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he will respect the Crimean people's wishes. Many Crimeans loyal to Kiev boycotted the referendum and the European Union and the United States have condemned it as illegal. Pro-Russian forces took control of Crimea in February.

President Obama made a telephonic call to the Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday saying that the Crimean referendum, not only violated the Ukrainian constitution, but also occurred under duress of Russian military intervention. He underscored that there remains a clear path for resolving the crisis diplomatically, in a way that addresses the interests of both Russia and the people of Ukraine. He asked Russia to support the immediate deployment of international monitors to help prevent acts of violence by any groups.