[live] Crimea referendum: Kyiv asks Russia to “immediately withdraw” out of region
Crimeans voted on Sunday on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum that has alarmed the ex-Soviet republic and triggered the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War.
Thousands of Russian troops have taken control of the Black Sea peninsula, and Crimea’s pro-Russian leaders have sought to ensure the vote is tilted in Moscow’s favour.
That, along with an ethnic Russian majority, is expected to result in a comfortable “Yes” vote to leave Ukraine, a move that could prompt U.S. and European sanctions as early as Monday
against those seen as responsible for the takeover of Crimea.