DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) – Residents of separatist-controlled regions of eastern Ukraine are voting to elect legislators and executives in polls that have been staunchly denounced by the international community.
Voting in the main rebel city of Donetsk proceeded Sunday in the presence of gunmen inside three polling stations visited by the AP.
Election organizers have cast it as a decisive development in the mainly Russian-speaking regions’ break from Ukrainian rule. Despite a cease-fire agreement being signed in September, fighting continues almost daily between government troops and rebel forces.
Russia supports the election, but the UN, EU and the United States say it violates Ukraine’s constitution and the terms of the cease-fire.
The eve of the vote saw an intensification of hostilities around Donetsk, but there was little sign of unrest Sunday.