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Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of commiting a “war crime” after a Ukrainian serviceman was killed at a Ukrainian base that came under attack in Crimea’s main town Simferopol.

“The conflict is moving from a political one to a military one because of Russian soldiers,” he told a meeting at Ukraine’s defence ministry. “Today, Russian soldiers began shooting at Ukrainian servicemen and this is a war crime without any expiry under a statute of limitations.”

The Ukrainian government’s official website confirmed that a junior officer has been killed in Simferopol. His surname was given as Kakurin, no first name. A captain named Fedun was wounded in the neck and the arm, the website says.

Ukraine’s defence ministry said its soldiers were “allowed to use arms” after suffering their first casualty in Crimea since Russian and pro-Kremlin troops seized the peninsula nearly three weeks ago.

Mr. Putin spoke in St. George’s Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace to an audience including members of both houses of Parliament and the governors of the country’s regions. Following the speech that was televised live, Putin and Crimean officials including Crimea’s Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov signed a treaty for the region to join Russia.

The treaty will have to be endorsed by Russia’s constitutional Court and ratified by both houses of parliament, but Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of upper house of Russian parliament, said the procedure could be completed by the end of the week.

In a symbolic gesture, Askyonov announced on Twitter that Crimea would switch to Moscow time from March 30, putting it two hours ahead of the rest of Ukraine.

In the Crimean capital Simferopol, the local government and businesses set about preparing for the switch to Russian rule.

Banks scrambled to introduce the ruble as an official currency alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia, although the switch could take place at the end of the month after March pensions and salaries are cleared, banking sources said.

Mr. Putin’s moves — effectively upending the agreements that served as the foundation of a post-Cold War order in Europe — indicated that the Kremlin remained undaunted by international pressure, including a series of American and European sanctions against prominent political figures that were met with derision and even mockery in Moscow.