Ukraine Votes to Dissolve Crimean Parliament

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Ukraine's national parliament voted to dissolve the regional Crimean parliament as pro-Moscow leaders there prepared for a referendum on whether to join Russia.

Image: A pro-Russian Cossack man stands guard in front of Crimea's regional parliament building

A pro-Russian Cossack man stands guard in front of Crimea's regional parliament building, near a Russian flag, in Simferopol on March 15, 2014. Ukraine braced for a breakaway vote in Crimea as deadly violence flared again in the ex-Soviet country's tinderbox east amid the biggest East-West showdown since the Cold War.AFP - Getty Images

March 15, 2014, 10:22 AM EDT

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Ukraine's national parliament voted to dissolve the regional Crimean parliament Saturday as pro-Moscow leaders there finalized preparations for a referendum on whether to join Russia.

The Sunday referendum has been dismissed as illegal by Kiev and has been condemned by the United States and the West.

— Ed Flanagan and James Novogrod

— Ed Flanagan and James Novogrod

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