Ukraine crisis: Separatists to hold controversial polls
2 November 2014
Last updated at 02:51 GMT
The election commission chief in Donetsk said the polls were important to “give legitimacy to our power”
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are preparing to hold elections which the West has denounced as illegitimate.
Presidential and parliamentary polls are being held in the two self-proclaimed “people’s republics” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukraine, the US and EU say they will not recognise the Russia-backed votes.
At least seven Ukrainian soldiers were killed on Friday amid intensified clashes in the region.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions fell to separatists after months of fighting in east Ukraine that ended with the Minsk ceasefire deal in September.
Rebel leaders say that as independent states they are not required to observe Ukrainian law and therefore did not participate in Ukraine’s national elections last week.
They say three million ballots have been printed for the polls, which will provide for directly elected presidents and parliaments.
“These elections are important because they will give legitimacy to our power and give us more distance from Kyiv,” Roman Lyagin, election commission chief of the Donetsk region, told the AFP news agency.
US ‘deplores’ polls
But Western leaders and ministers in the capital Kyiv say the territories must abide by the truce, which was agreed with Russia, and hold local elections under Ukrainian law in December.
“We deplore the intent of separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine to hold illegitimate so-called local ‘elections’ on Sunday,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.
Alexander Zakharchenko, the acting head of government in Donetsk, is tipped to become president
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Minsk deal provided for elections “in co-ordination with, not in line with” Ukrainian plans.
Alexander Zakharchenko, the acting head of government in Donetsk, is widely tipped to become the region’s president.
Meanwhile, Igor Plotnitsky is being touted by Russian media as the favourite to win in Luhansk.
But the elections come amid continuing violence in eastern Ukraine.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s army said on Saturday that seven soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded during 24 hours of fighting across the breakaway regions.
At least 3,700 people have been killed in fighting since armed separatists took over government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk in April.
The international airport just outside Donetsk has been largely destroyed in fighting