hello, i m wolf blitzer reporting from washington. there is a lot to tell you over the next hour. on the deepening crisis in ukraine. at the center of the conflict, the peninsula seen here in red. there you see it in the middle of the screen. ukraine s defense minister says they have warned officials to swear allegiance to the new crimean authorities, surrender, or face an attack. but russian media now saying reports of a russian ultimatum are, quote, utter rubbish. what we know right now is about 6,000 russian troops are in control of crimea. the european union demanding an immediate russian withdrawal. the secretary of state, john kerry, he s due to fly out tonight, to go to kiev in ukraine. he spoke moments ago at the state department, and he condemned russian s invasion of crimea as an incredible act of aggression. in moscow, russian s parliament is considering legislation that could ultimately lead to the annexation of crimea as russian