Ukraine's Donetsk Region Votes For Independence

Ukraine's Donetsk Region Votes 89pc For Independence, According To Pro-Russia Rebels -- ABC News (Australia)

Rebels in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine have claimed that 89 per cent of voters had cast ballots in favour of independence in a disputed referendum on Sunday, with 10 per cent against.

"These can be considered the final results," said Roman Lyagin, the head of Donetsk's self-styled electoral commission, after polling stations closed.

He said that voter turnout was just under 75 per cent.

"We are announcing the results immediately after we received them ourselves," the rebel said.

"It turned out to be extremely easy to count the votes as the number of people who voted against was extremely low and the number of spoiled ballots was low."

Donetsk was one of two regions holding referendums on independence from Ukraine that authorities in Kiev have slammed as a "farce" and the West fears will bring the ex-Soviet Republic closer to civil war.

There was no immediate word on results from the other region, Lugansk, where polls closed slightly later.

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More News On Ukraine's Donetsk Region Voting For Independence

Lugansk and Donetsk regions vote for self-determination -- RT
Ukraine rebels claim referendum victory -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
Rebels talk of splitting Ukraine as East votes on self-rule -- Reuters
Ukraine rebels hold referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk -- BBC
Eastern Ukrainians Vote on Secession -- WSJ
Ukraine referendum claims high turnout amid international condemnation -- The Telegraph
Voter Drive: A Russian Auto Shop Becomes a Ukrainian Polling Site -- WSJ
Rebels claim massive turnout in Ukraine vote -- Al Jazeera
Polls close in eastern Ukraine amid allegations of fraud and double-voting -- CNN
Ukraine rebel referendum: BBC reporters on the ground -- BBC
East Ukraine Is Disintegrating Amid Rebel Referendums -- Michael Kelley, business Insider
In pictures: Eastern Ukraine vote -- BBC

My Comment: I have been telling my family/friends/acquaintances in eastern Ukraine that they should wait until after this month's Ukrainian presidential elections .... and see what the new government will give them before deciding to breakup the country. As I keep on telling them .... the consequences on such a breakup will be severe .... there will be international condemnation and isolation, the economy will contract significantly (even more so than what has happened), and no one is going to invest any money/people/resources in such an unstable situation. I keep on telling them that if they go ahead with independence .... the Donetsk and Lugansk regions will be a basket case for years.

But out of the 30 or so that I have talked to via through phone calls/Skype/emails/etc. .... no one wants to be a part of Ukraine anymore. They all tell me the same thing .... the actions of the Ukraine military in the past six weeks has only angered everyone .... everyone has a story on what the Ukraine security forces have been doing ... and none of them positive. This is a dramatic change since March. At that time everyone was worried about their jobs, pensions, having enough money to buy the main essentials, etc.. Today .... everyone is just focused on leaving Ukraine and starting anew.

Damn .... these people are so stubborn. Must be something in the Russian DNA .... and even though my nationality is Russian .... it just drives me crazy.

Now here comes the hard part .... someone has to tell Kiev that they have lost the eastern part of the country.

On a more optimistic note .... my cousins and their families in Kiev have a different point of view .... they are hoping for change after this month's elections .... and that with time the divisions may heal. But even though they are optimistic .... they have implemented their plan (my cousin and her daughter) to move to Miami permanently and to set up shop to bring rich Ukrainians and Russians to invest and live in Florida. My cousin's daughter already has her Green card and real estate license .... and (knowing who they are) .... I suspect that they are going to be incredibly successful. So ... in short .... people are believing that better times are ahead .... but many are also making plans for a "just in case" scenario.