REPORT: Ukraine's Yanukovich to hold news conference in Russia-RIA

Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich plans to hold a news conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Friday at 5 p.m. (1300 GMT), Russian news agencies reported, citing people close to Yanukovich.
   
Yanukovich's whereabouts have been widely unknown since he fled the Ukrainian capital on Saturday, losing a bloody three-month standoff against opponents who led protests against him after he spurned deals with the European Union.

Ukraine's parliament approved on Thursday Oleksander Shlapak, a former economy minister and ex-deputy head of the central bank, as the country's new finance minister.

It also confirmed Andriy Deshchitsya as acting foreign minister and Ihor Tenyukh as acting defence minister - they take on their roles on an interim basis because they are named by the president but Ukraine currently has only an interim president.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's new prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused the government of ousted President Viktor Yanukovich of stripping state coffers bare and said 37 billion dollars of credit it had received had disappeared.
   
Speaking in parliament before he was appointed head of a national unity government, Yatseniuk said that in the past three years "the sum of 70 billion dollars was paid out of Ukraine's financial system into off-shore accounts".
   
"I want to report to you - the state treasury has been robbed and is empty," he said. "37 billion dollars of credit received have disappeared in an unknown direction," he added.
   
The situation was so grave that there was no other alternative but to take "extraordinarily unpopular measures," he said.
    

The hryvnia hit a record low earlier on Thursday because of concerns that the central bank is stymied by dwindling foreign currency reserves.           

Earlier, Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich said he was still the legitimate president of Ukraine and people in the country's southeastern and southern regions would never accept the "lawlessness" brought by leaders chosen by a mob.          

Russian news agencies quoted a statement by Yanukovich as saying he had asked Moscow to guarantee his personal safety.            

This comes as Ukraine's Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's acting envoy in Kiev and called for immediate consultations with Moscow following the seizure of the regional government and parliament buildings in Crimea.           

It said in a written statement that the envoy, Andrei Vorobyov, had been handed a note requesting that Russian military based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol stay on base.                

Russia recalled its ambassador from Kiev for consultations in Moscow after parliament stripped President Viktor Yanukovich of his powers on Saturday.           

This as Ukraine said it would regard any movements by Russian military in Crimea outside the Russian Black Sea fleet's  base in Sevastopol as an act of aggression.         

Acting President Oleksander Turchinov issued the warning in the national parliament after armed men seized the regional government and parliament buildings in Crimea, where some ethnic Russians want the region to join the Russian Federation.             

Fighter jets along Russia's western borders have been put on combat alert, the Defense Ministry was quoted as saying on Thursday by Interfax news agency.          

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday urged Russia to join the United States and allies to help stabilize Ukraine, and cautioned this was not the time for provocative actions.
   
Kerry said he had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by phone on Thursday about tensions in Ukraine's Crimea region and Russian military forces on the border. Lavrov underscored that the military exercises were not related to Ukraine and had been previously scheduled, Kerry added.
   
"We believe that everybody now needs to step back and avoid any kind of provocations," Kerry said during a joint news conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Earlier, the White House warned Russia to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and told Moscow to avoid "provocative" actions with regard to the crisis-hit country.
   
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 150,000 troops to be ready for war games near Ukraine on Wednesday, and on Thursday, Russia put fighter jets on combat alert.
   
"We strongly support Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. We expect other nations to do the same," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a briefing.

This as, Russia said that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed cooperation with Moscow to resolve the Ukraine crisis during a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday.
   
Lavrov underscored the need to ensure implementation of a European Union-brokered peace deal that Viktor Yanukovich signed last week before fleeing the Ukrainian capital, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Yanukovich claims he remains president.

Russia also said that Ukraine's interim government is not a government of national unity but a "government of winners" which includes extreme nationalists, suggesting it fell far short of representing the whole country.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said an agreement in a Feb. 21 peace deal between now-ousted President Viktor Yanukovich and his foes to create a national unity government had been "consigned to oblivion". "Instead ... a 'government of winners' which includes representatives of the extreme nationalists is being created."

For his part, British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was particularly concerned about the situation in the Crimea and told Russia that it should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
   
"Russia has made that commitment and it's important that Russia keeps its word. The world will be watching," Cameron said.

In turn, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Russia must be transparent about military exercises along Ukraine's border and not take any steps that could be misinterpreted or "lead to miscalculation during a delicate time".

This comes after Russia has agreed to ensure the personal safety of Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich, Russian news agencies quoted a source in the authorities as saying.      

"In connection with the appeal by president Yanukovich for his personal security to be guaranteed, I report that the request has been granted on the territory of the Russian Federation," the source was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.          

Also on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that an armed group's seizure of regional government headquarters and parliament in Ukraine's Crimea was "dangerous and irresponsible."           

"I am extremely concerned about the most recent developments in Crimea. This morning's action by an armed group is dangerous and irresponsible," Rasmussen told a NATO meeting also attended Ukraine's acting defense minister.             

As well, Germany's Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that Germany is concerned about events in Crimea and a breakup of Ukraine must be avoided.              

She spoke after armed men seized the regional government headquarters and parliament on Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and raised the Russian flag.