DHAKA: Russia has been exposed as isolated over the crisis in Ukraine, with members of the UN Security Council overwhelmingly supporting a draft resolution condemning an upcoming referendum on the future of Crimea as illegal.

The vote on Saturday comes as reports claimed that Russian troops had landed on a strip of land in the southeast between Crimea and the mainland, forcing Ukraine to dispatch an aircraft and armed forces to stop the troop movement, reports Al-Jazeera.

Russia vetoed the US-backed resolution when it was put to a vote before the council, but its ally China abstained, leaving it as the only nation to recognise the Crimean referendum.

The veto means the resolution will not be adopted by the UN, but highlights Russia`s international isolation over Crimea.

After the vote was taken, Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, said: "Under the UN charter, the Russian Federation has the power to veto a security council resolution. But it does not have the power to veto the truth."

"History has lessons for all of us, who are willing to listen. Unfortunately, not everyone was willing to listen today."

Al Jazeera`s diplomatic editor, James Bays, said the vote laid bare the international opposition to Russia`s stance on Ukraine and Crimea.

"China is not supporting its ally Russia on this occasion. It is abstaining. That`s the best the Western nations, who drafted this resolution, could hope for, but they think that this is important because it exposes that Russia is on its own."

Before the vote, Russia`s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said that Russia`s action in Crimea arose because of an "unconstitutional coup" in Kiev.

Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Russia of further incursion into its territory, which the US said would be an "outrageous escalation" if proven to be true.

"For something additional, even more escalatory to have occurred would be flying in the face of everything you have heard here today," Ambassador Power said.

BDST: 0905  HRS, MAR 16, 2014