Ukrainian troops take control of city in rebel region
Ampliar
People push a truck to reinforce a barricade in Mariupol, Ukraine, 11 May 2014. Residents of eastern Ukraine on 11 May began voting on an independence referendum that was organized by pro-Russian separatists and rejected by the government in Kyiv. EFE
Donetsk, Ukraine, May 11 (EFE).- Ukrainian military forces took control of the city hall and the police headquarters in Krasnoarmeysk, a city in the rebellious pro-Russian region of Donetsk, where a referendum is being held Sunday on Ukrainian independence, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported, citing the government of the self-proclaimed people’s republic of Donetsk.
Taking part in the military move were troops of the Ukrainian National Guard supported by armored vehicles, media outlets reported.
Ukrainian reporters said that the residents of the city had gathered in front of the city hall and were demanding the withdrawal of the troops.
Ukrainian soldiers also took control of four electoral colleges, but pro-Russian workers and activists said that they were able to prevent all the ballots from falling into the troops’ hands.
“Everyone who was at the election facilities was evacuated. Also, the members of the electoral commission took the ballots and the voters’ lists,” Denis Pushilin, one of the leaders of the people’s republic of Donetsk, told the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency.
Since the start of voting in the city, a high participation by the public has been observed, the spokesman for the separatist organization, Roman Liaguin, said.
In the northern part of the neighboring region of Lugansk, some 15,000 ballots were seized by Ukrainian troops who also prevented the holding of the referendum in the city of Novoaidar, located 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Lugansk in southeastern Ukraine, media reports said.
Pro-Russian activists said that participation in the referendum has exceeded 80 percent so far in Lugansk and 50 percent in Donetsk.
Voting day began at 8 a.m. and will last until 10 p.m. in the majority of the cities across the region.