The secession referendum will let the three million residents of the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk vote on whether they want to remain part of Ukraine.
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Pro-Russian separatist leaders pressed for a referendum on self-rule across eastern Ukraine on Sunday, raising fears in Kiev and the West of civil war and dismemberment. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters -
An officer casts his vote in eastern Ukraine’s independence referendum on May 11, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. John Moore/Getty Images -
The referendum on the status of Donetsk region in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Marko Djurica/Reuters -
An elderly woman prepares to cast her vote at a polling station during a referendum in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters -
Votes were cast in Donetsk where a referendum was called by pro-Russian rebels calling for a split from the rest of Ukraine. Genya Savilov/AFP -
A woman steps out of a polling booth in a polling station in the village of Khryashchuvate. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP -
Western leaders threatened more sanctions against Russia in the key areas of energy, financial services and engineering if it continued what they regard as efforts to destabilize Ukraine. Marko Djurica/Reuters -
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry called the referendum a criminal farce, its ballot papers “soaked in blood”. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters -
For a vote on which so much hangs, the referendum in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which has declared itself a “People’s Republic”, seemed a decidedly ad hoc affair. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP -
Ballot papers were printed without security provision, polling stations were limited in many areas, voter registration was patchy and there was confusion on quite what people were asked to endorse. Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo
In pictures: eastern Ukraine votes on self-rule referendum
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