SIMFEROPOL, UKRAINE—Vladimir Putin unleashed a stinging verbal attack on his global adversaries Tuesday, accusing Western powers of engineering “regime change” in Ukraine.

And though the Russian president still regards fugitive Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych as the legitimate leader of Ukraine, Putin believes Yanukovych now has “no political future.”

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In a marathon press conference percolating with headlines, Putin also moved to tamp down fears of Russia’s intentions for Crimea, saying Moscow had no plans to forcibly annex the territory and would allow Crimeans to determine their future for themselves.

He also said the Russian military would refrain from the use of force in Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula — but retained the right to do so as a “last resort” in the event of attacks on Russian nationals in the territory.

Putin’s remarks at a more than hour-long press conference in Moscow came on the heels of an earlier announcement that Russia had ordered an estimated 150,000 troops mobilized along the Ukrainian border back to their bases in an apparent de-escalation of tensions.

The end to the military manoeuvres that the Kremlin insists were unrelated to the crisis was scheduled for Friday. The decision sparked an immediate recovery of the Russian financial markets, which fell precipitously Monday as the crisis built over the weekend.

Putin’s statements came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kyiv Tuesday with a pledge of $1 billion in loan guarantees to help the fledging Ukrainian government stave off financial collapse.

U.S. officials are believed to be weighing a range of possible sanctions against Russia to pressure the Kremlin to end its intervention in Crimea, Ukraine’s only region with an ethnic Russian majority.

Despite the order to end its mobilization along the border, a five-day surge of Russian troops into Crimea involving what Ukrainian officials say are 16,000 new troops has left the semi-autonomous province under de facto Russian control.

Putin, mostly relaxed but at times bristling over the tone of questions in Moscow, told reporters that accusations Russian soldiers were already in Crimea were untrue, and that if the uniforms of fighters on the ground resembled those of Russia, such equipment is easily purchased by anyone and therefore not evidence of Russian involvement.

His claim is in direct conflict with eyewitness accounts of the Russian presence in Crimea, including those of the Toronto Star.

Putin also downplayed the crisis atmosphere, framing the possibility of war as remote and saying that any intervention by Russia would be strictly to protect the people of Ukraine against what he characterized as a radical, illegitimate regime.

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“What could trigger the use of military force?” said Putin. “As you know, the legitimately president, Yanukovych, requested Russia to use military force to defend the lives and health of Ukrainians.

“Our major concern is the orgy that is happening – so many nationalists and radical extremists that are on the streets of Kyiv … When they ask us for help – and we do have an official request from the president – we reserve the right to defend these people and we believe this is legitimate.”

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