Ukraine: Referendum voting underway in Lugansk
VideoID: 20140511-031 W/S Ballot box being put in place C/U Ballot paper C/U Woman checking passport M/S Armed man M/S Valery Bolotov with passport C/U Voter signing papers M/S Valery Bolotov...
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Ukraine: Referendum voting underway in Lugansk - Video
Ukraine crisis: Russia #39;s Putin
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Voting closing in eastern Ukraine
May 11 - Election offices are closing in eastern Ukraine, where residents are voting on whether they want self-rule away from Kiev. Nathan Frandino reports. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/reuterssu...
By: Reuters
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Voting closing in eastern Ukraine - Video
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Residents in eastern Ukraine formed long queues at polling stations Sunday to cast their votes in hastily organized independence referendums, defying the central government which called the ballots illegal and funded by neighboring Russia.
The votes seek approval for declaring so-called sovereign people's republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where pro-Russian insurgents have seized government buildings and clashed with police and Ukrainian troops over the past month.
Ukraine's interim president warned that independence for eastern regions would destroy the country's economy. "This is a step into the abyss for the regions," Oleksandr Turchynov said in comments posted on the presidential website Saturday.
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and were due to close at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT). There were reports of sporadic clashes, but the situation remained calm in most of the sprawling regions with a population of 6.5 million and referendum organizers said they expected a high turnout.
Protesters, Police Clash in East Ukraine
Insurgents in the city of Slovyansk, which has seen some of the most violent clashes between pro-Russian militants and government forces in recent weeks, exchanged fire with Ukrainian troops on the outskirts of the city overnight. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said an army soldier was wounded in a mortar shelling.
The port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov also has remained on edge after Friday's clashes, in which at least seven died. Long lines of voters were seen in the city's streets.
The Ukrainian government and the West have accused Russia of fomenting or even directing the unrest in the east, with the goal of destabilizing Ukraine or finding a pretext for invasion. Russia has rejected the accusations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had asked the referendums' organizers to delay the vote as he bargained with Western powers on conditions for defusing the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The insurgents, however, have refused to heed his call.
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Ukraine Regions Hold Sovereignty Vote
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) When new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk invited anti-corruption activists to his apartment in Kiev last month, the first thing he showed off was his toilet. "See for yourself," Yatsenyuk joked. "It's not gold."
It was a jab at ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, who along with his government cronies had a notorious penchant for gaudy luxury.
Yatsenyuk's interim government is seeking to carry out sweeping reforms to break from a culture of self-interest, cynicism and corruption that left the country on the verge of bankruptcy. Images of chandeliers, gilded pillars and ornate marble flooring that emerged from Yanukovych's mansion after he fled caused revulsion across Ukraine.
By contrast, Yatsenyuk flies economy, lets whistleblowers into his home and readily admits to mistakes. Those qualities have helped him grow in stature and win support for his administration even as Ukraine struggles to avoid a possible breakup.
Yatsenyuk leads a motley team of young pro-Western professionals, idealists, nationalists and heroes of the Maidan protests named after the square that was the magnet of dissent as well as veterans of rough-and-tumble Ukrainian politics. As the eclectic group assumed power in February, it knew it faced a daunting challenge: State coffers were empty, the country was deeply polarized and the protest movement was not willing to give the new government any easy breaks.
Then things got dramatically worse: Ukraine lost Crimea to Russia and the government found itself battling pro-Kremlin insurgents, while trying to avoid war with its giant neighbor to the east. "Nobody fully realized the bonus, so to speak, we would be getting in the annexation of Crimea and separatist movements," Ostap Semerak, who holds the title of Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers and is a close ally of Yatsenyuk, told The Associated Press.
The road has been paved with successes and setbacks. But during the rocky journey, Yatsenyuk, who exudes the air of a somewhat nerdy intellectual, has gained respect by proving to be steadfast in the face of quixotic tasks, ready to sacrifice personal interests for the country's good. Yatsenyuk often refers to his new job as a suicide mission and, when congratulated recently on his post, he quipped that condolences were more in order.
While eastern Ukraine is deeply suspicious of the new government, the rest of Ukraine appears to trust its new leaders: A nationwide April poll conducted by the International Republican Institute shows full or partial support for the Yatsenyuk government at 52 percent, up from 46 in March. The poll had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.
The positive assessment is not shared by Russia, which casts the new government as a group of nationalist radicals that seized power during an armed coup.
As the country prepares for May 25 presidential elections to choose a new leader, all eyes are on the interim government and its ability to ensure a successful vote, even as eastern and southern regions are riven by unrest.
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Ukraine's Leader Gains Stature With Honest Image