TODAY: West continues to pressure Russia over Ukraine; Putin defends actions in Crimea; Khodorkovsky addresses Kiev crowds, says Kremlin is lying; pro-Russia protesters disrupt peaceful Ukrainian rally; TNK-BP oligarchs close to new deal; Serdyukov corruption case dropped; Gazprom threatens Ukraine over price and supply.

Western governments are pressuring Russia to find a peaceful solution to the Crimea crisis, with Britain warning of a ‘shooting conflict’ if Russian forces move beyond Crimea into eastern Ukraine.  During a telephone conversation last night, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly told President Vladimir Putin that Moscow’s backing of a referendum in Crimea was illegal and in violation of Ukraine’s constitution.  Putin, however, insists that Crimea’s actions were legitimate and based on international law.  (Reuters has a useful timeline of recent events.)  Former prisoner and Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky addressed crowds gathered at a protest in Kiev over the weekend, telling them that the Russian authorities were complicit in deadly government attacks by former President Viktor Yanukovych; he accused the Kremlin of lying in its portrayal of Ukrainian protesters. ‘Russian propaganda lies, as always. There are no fascists or Nazis here, no more than on the streets on Moscow or St Petersburg. These are wonderful people who stood up for their freedom.’  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the current Ukrainian crisis was ’created artificially for purely geopolitical reasons’.  Pro-Russian protesters attacked Ukrainians who gathered in Donetsk to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko, as pro-Kremlin youth groups helped organise weekend actions across Russia to show support for Ukraine.  Dominic Lawson analyses Russia’s justifications for its actions in Ukraine as ‘pure Soviet vintage’.