A crucial referendum on either becoming an integral part of Russia or staying within Ukraine on conditions of wide autonomy has kicked off in the Republic of Crimea despite international condemnation and pressure from Kiev.
The polling stations of 27 regional Crimean election commissions are going to be open all day long, from 8am until 8pm (0600 GMT- 1800 GMT). Up to 1.5 million people – this is the number of ballots printed for the referendum – are expected to cast their votes in favor of the republic either joining Russia or remaining part of Ukraine.
An exceptionally high turnout has already been registered at the referendum. More than 44 percent of Crimean residents (over 670,000 people) had taken part by noon, according to the head of the Crimean parliament’s commission on the referendum, Mikhail Malyshev.
By 11 am, one-third of Kerch residents had cast their ballots, while in Sevastopol 50 percent of the population had done so by noon, local officials said.