Moscow respects Ukraine separatist votes
By Portia Walker and Anna Arutunyan, Special for USA TODAY
An armed pro-Russian separatist stands guard near a polling booth in Donetsk
DONETSK, Ukraine — Russia called Monday for "respect" for the results of the disputed referendums in eastern Ukraine as it also expressed its hope that dialogue between Kiev and Ukraine's eastern regions would take place.
Moscow said the outcome of the controversial referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk should now be implemented without resorting to violence, and that it should be done in a "civilized way." The Kremlin's brief remarks were carried by Russia's Interfax news agency.
Russia suggested that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe could be brought in to help mediate the dialogue between Ukraine's government and representatives of the east.
Earlier, pro-Russia insurgents claimed voters supported succession overwhelmingly after referendums Sunday that could deepen turmoil here and further set Russia against the West. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called the voting a "criminal farce.''
About 90% of voters in Ukraine's sprawling industrial heartland backed their regions' sovereignty in the controversial referendums, which the Ukrainian government and the West have rejected as illegal, organizers said Monday.
"These processes are inspired by the leadership of the Russian Federation and are destructive to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions' economies and threaten the lives and welfare of citizens and have the aim of destabilizing the situation in Ukraine," acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchinov said in a statement.
Locals in Donetsk — where streets had remained calm Sunday — were split on whether to vote for secession or remain part of Ukraine, with a number intimidated by the armed militants occupying the regional council building in the center of the city. Many of those who said they were against independence were opting not to vote at all.
"There is no third way anymore. You have to be either for or against. But why should I hate my own country? So they proclaim independence, but then what?" said Vyacheslav Fomenko, an entrepreneur in Donetsk.
Ukraine government forces seized 100,000 ballots already marked 'Yes' for tw eastern regions to break away Ukraine
The pro-Russian insurgents who organized the vote said the ultimate status of the regions would be discussed later and could include the possibility of secession or annexation by Russia.
Ukraine's central government and the West have condemned the balloting as a sham and a violation of international law, and accused Moscow of fomenting the unrest in a possible attempt to grab more land weeks after the annexation of Crimea.
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