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Ukraine has announced plans to pull its soldiers and their families out of Crimea after Russia seized two key navy bases.

Security chief Andriy Parubiy said today: “We are developing a plan that would enable us not only to withdraw servicemen, but also members of their families in Crimea, so they could be quickly and efficiently moved to mainland Ukraine.”

The announcement came after Vladimir Putin’s troops stormed the Ukraine navy’s HQ at Sevastapol and its base at Novoozerne on the north west coast.

President Putin enraged the West this week by signing a treaty annexing the region, where his forces heavily outnumber Ukraine’s.

The naval bases were attacked as US Vice President Joe Biden warned: “As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation.”

The Crimea crisis was branded a “wake-up call” by NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He added: “This is the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War.”

Today’s base seizures in Crimea follow three weeks of blockades imposed on Ukrainian forces.

Navy commander Admiral Serhiy Haiduk whisked away from Sevastapol to be grilled by spooks thought to be from the FSB – Moscow’s feared foreign spy agency which has flooded the region with pro-Putin propaganda and trouble-makers.

But both bases were taken without a shot being fired – despite guards being authorised to use deadly force following the killing of a Ukrainian soldier as Russia took over a military compound in Simferopol.

A soldier at the gates of the Sevastapol base said today: “They cut the gates open, but I heard no shooting. This thing should have been solved politically. Now all I can do is stand here at the gate. There is nothing else I can do.”

(Image: Getty)

Meanwhile, extremism has crept into Kiev, where a new government was formed last month following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych. Far-right nationalists are ruthlessly hunting down pro-Russians.

Mr Parubiy added plans were being made to introduce visas for Russian nationals travelling to Ukraine.

He also said Ukraine was leaving the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States alliance and preparing for military exercises with the US and the UK.

Preparations are also being made to evacuate pro-Ukraine citizens living within Crimea, where the largely pro-Russia population voted by 96% in a referendum to rejoin Moscow.

(Image: Getty)

Mr Biden’s warning came as he visited Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, where there are fears of a return to the dark days of the Soviet Union.

He added: “We’re in this with you, together. Russia cannot escape the fact that the world is changing and rejecting outright their behaviour.”

Worried Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite told him the situation was “a direct threat to our regional security” involving “brute force”.

In a new twist, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said today Moscow would impose sanctions on the US in retaliation for the travel bans and asset freezes slapped on its own leaders.

“They can be steps which, let’s say... won’t go unnoticed in Washington,” he said.

And Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov slammed Britain for partially suspending military cooperation with Moscow.

He said: “It nullifies everything positive that had been achieved with such difficulty in recent years.”

Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke today and agreed the EU should slap further sanctions on Russia.

A spokeswoman for the PM said: “They reaffirmed their support for the Ukrainian government and agreed the international community should be doing all it can to provide economic assistance to Kiev during this difficult time.”

Mr Cameron is due to discuss the Ukraine crisis with other European leaders in two days of meetings starting today. High on the agenda will be ways to cut the £3billion a month the EU spends buying nearly a third of its gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom.