Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested approval from the country’s upper house of parliament to move Russian armed forces into Ukraine, RIA Novosti reported, citing Kremlin’s press service.

The move comes after several days of media reports of Russian troop movements in the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and a week after the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in Kyiv.

Putin, who has yet to speak publicly about the crisis, requested the permission to use military force because of threats to lives of Russian citizens and the Russian military forces in naval bases in Crimea.

Russian troops will be used until the “political-social situation in the country is normalized,” according to the Kremlin.