OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called a special cabinet meeting after Russia cleared the way for the deployment of troops to Ukraine's Crimea region.
A spokesman for the prime minister's office says key cabinet ministers will gather this afternoon to discuss recent developments in the eastern European country.
Harper is expected to make a statement after the meeting.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is reviewing Russia's military moves in Ukraine and trying to figure out how to respond while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for calm to be restored.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received permission Saturday to use the country's military in Ukraine, moving to formalize troop deployments that Ukrainian officials have called an ongoing invasion of the strategic region of Crimea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is advising against travel to the region and says Canadians already there should consider leaving "while it is safe to do so."
Foreign Affairs says its advisory is due to "political uncertainty" and reports of armed groups operating in the area, along with protests and public clashes.
It says those who can't leave Crimea -- where the airports aren't operating -- should stay indoors and avoid large crowds and demonstrations.
The department is also advising against non-essential travel to Kyiv due to instability.
Putin's request to Russia's parliament loosely referred to the "territory of Ukraine" rather than specifically to Crimea, raising the possibility that Moscow could use military force in other Russian-speaking provinces in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Canada earlier warned Russia not to breach the sovereignty of its Ukraine neighbour, joining other countries in sending a strong message to Moscow.
Ukrainian officials and some Western diplomats said that a Russian military intervention is already well underway after heavily armed gunmen in unmarked military uniforms seized control of local government buildings, airports and other strategic facilities in Crimea in recent days.
Ignoring President Barack Obama's warning Friday that "there will be costs" if Russia intervenes militarily, Putin said Saturday the "extraordinary situation in Ukraine" was putting at risk the lives of Russian citizens and military personnel stationed at a naval base that Moscow has maintained in the Black Sea peninsula since the Soviet collapse.
