11-05-2014_18-37-59 / ART 3 2 COURSE

ARTICLE # 3

UKRAINE REBELS HOLD REFERENDUMS IN DONETSK AND LUHANSK

11 May 2014

Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's two eastern regions are holding "self-rule" referendums - a move condemned by the Ukrainian government and the West.

BBC correspondents at polling stations report chaotic scenes, no voting booths in places and no electoral register.

Self-proclaimed leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are going ahead with the vote despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to postpone it.

Ukraine says the vote could result in the "self-destruction" of the regions.

There is only one question on the ballot papers, in both Ukrainian and Russian: "Do you support the act of state self-rule of the Donetsk People's Republic/Luhansk People's Republic?"

And there are still outbreaks of violence, with fighting reported overnight around the rebel-held city of Sloviansk.

'Total collapse'

BBC reporters across eastern Ukraine have described the situation:

At the Dom Kultura polling station in Sloviansk, organiser Vitaly Vyatko told the BBC voting was going well. Pro Russia militiamen in fatigues and balaclavas are voting alongside grandmothers

But one pro-Ukrainian head teacher reported she received death threats after refusing to let the rebels use her school as a polling station

The BBC's Piers Schofield, in Donetsk, says the process appears haphazard. Although there are voters' lists in polling stations, one can vote at any station

The BBC spoke to one man there who is registered elsewhere - but simply gave his name and ID number and was allowed to vote

The organiser at one Mariupol polling station told the BBC voters' details would be checked against lists from other stations in "one day"

The organisers have suggested they intend to hold a second round of voting later this month, on joining Russia. They also say they will boycott Ukraine's presidential elections on 25 May.

On Saturday, Ukraine's interim President Olexandr Turchynov admitted many in eastern Ukraine supported the pro-Russian militants, but warned that the referendums were "a step towards the abyss".

The EU and US have also condemned the referendums, amid fears that Ukraine could be sliding to civil war.

A survey by the Pew Research Centre suggested a majority even in eastern Ukraine - 70% - wanted to remain in a united country, despite concerns about governance.

Last month, Russia annexed Ukraine's southern autonomous republic of Crimea, after a referendum.

Bill Taylor, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said results from Sunday's referendum should be treated with caution after what happened in Crimea.

"The first reports were... that 80% turned out and 97% agreed with the yes vote. And then we find out just a couple of days ago from an official Russian government website that the turnout was not 80%, it was only 30% in Crimea, and the yes vote was not 97%, it was only 50%," he told the BBC.

Russia is estimated to have some 40,000 troops near the border, but has said it has no plans to cross into mainland Ukraine.

Moscow says the troops have been pulled back, but Nato says it has seen no sign of this.

EU leaders have warned Russia it faces further sanctions if Ukraine's presidential election fails to go ahead.