Rebels claim referendum victory in Ukraine

Pro-Russian rebels claimed voters supported secession overwhelmingly after a disputed referendum on Sunday in eastern Ukraine that could deepen turmoil in the east European country and further set Russia against the West. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the voting a ‘criminal farce.’ About 90% of voters in Ukraine’s sprawling industrial heartland backed their regions’ sovereignty in controversial referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk, which the Ukrainian government and the West have rejected as illegal, organisers said on Monday. Locals in Donetsk – where streets had remained calm on Sunday – were split on whether to vote for secession or remain part of Ukraine, with a number intimidated by the armed militants occupying the regional council building in the center of the city. Many of those who said they were against independence were opting not to vote at all. ‘There is no third way anymore. You have to be either for or against. But why should I hate my own country? So they proclaim independence, but then what?’ said Vyacheslav Fomenko, an entrepreneur in Donetsk. The pro-Russian insurgents who organised the vote said the ultimate status of the regions would be discussed later and could include the possibility of secession or annexation by Russia, according to Reuters.