Violence spreads from Donetsk International Airport to nearby railway station; one civilian killed in crossfire
5:08 p.m. — Here’s a timeline from the Kyiv Post correspondents at the scene:
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The armed, Kremlin-backed rebels showed up at the Donetsk International Airport at 3 a.m. and started facing off with the Ukrainian military that was guarding the airstrip. Negotiations began, but obviously failed. At 5:30 a.m., several rebels were captured by Ukrainian forces, according to the Defense Ministry. At 10 a.m., three buses of 50 Kremlin-back rebels entered the airport to support the militia already there.
Around 1 p.m., Ukrainian forces issued an ultimatum to the rebels to lay down their arms and surrender. However, they failed to do so. That led to a firefight that began before 2 p.m.
Rebels previously had taken over buildings without any resistance. But today, it seemed as though the military understood that losing the airport would be a huge strategic loss, much like in Crimea.
By the early afternoon, two Ukrainian fighter jets buzzed overhead. Three Ukrainian military helicopters flew over the airport, with fighters releasing anti-missile flares as they buzzed by. A MiG-29 fired on the rebel fighters from the air.
One helicopter fired at and destroyed the insurgents’ anti-aircraft gun, according to Vladislav Seleznev, a Ukraine military spokesperson. Around 3 p.m., Ukrainian forces took further offensive actions. Bursts of gunfire punctuated by mortar and RPG blasts echoed through the area.
The military pushed the rebels south into a residential area a less than a quarter mile from the city’s central train station.
Rebels and ukraine troops exchanged gunfire from their positions behind trees and bus stops.
At least one rebel was injured and carried to a car and driven away.
As the fighting moved toward te train station, an announcement to evacuate blared from loudspeakers. People there spilled out of the building. Several people were visibly emotional. One woman cried into the phone, “Mom! They’re shooting everywhere!”
In the afternoon, one civilian — a male parking lot attendant — was killed by stray bullet at Donetsk train station.
Many shops and restaurants in Donetsk closed, including the large shopping mall Donetsk City, as the Russian-backed insurgents appear to have taken control of the railway station by 5:30 p.m.
Footage of the Ukrainian army clashes with Kremlin-backed separatists in Donetsk on May 26.
Poroshenko has 54 percent of vote with 80 percent of votes counted
May 26, 3:25 p.m. — Petro Poroshenko continued to hold steady with 54 percent of votes with only 20 percent of the total left to be counted, according to Interfax-Ukraine news reports citing the Central Election Commission.
Donetsk International Airport remains closed; gunmen perched on roof as battle under way
May 26, 2:55 p.m. — The Donetsk International Airport, closed on May 26 by the Kremlin-backed separatists, is a scene of chaos and gunfire today. At least two fighter jets are overhead and three helicopters, apparently part of the Ukrainian anti-terrorist operation against the armed separatist gument. The jets were firing anti-missile flares. Smoke was rising from the airport and repeated bursts of gunfire could be heard. The airport, built for the Euro 2012 football championships, cost the state $266 million to build.
Explosions and gunfire took place near the separatist-closed Donetsk International Airport
Poroshenko with 53.9 percent after 75 percent of vote counted
May 26, 2:06 p.m. The Central Election Commission has processed 75.08 percent of electronic protocols, showing Petro Porohsneko with 53.89 percent of the vote and Yulia Tymoshenko trailing distantly with 13.1 percent of the vote.
Poroshenko’s lead holds firm at 53.75 percent
May 26, 1:25 p.m. Petro Poroshenko’s lead stands at 53.75 percent after 70 percent of electronic protocols processed, according to Interfax-Ukraine news service.
Poroshenko will continue with anti-terrorism operation, make it more effective
May 26, 12:56 p.m. — Petro Poroshenko says he is not going to terminate anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine as president, but will definitely make it more effective. “During my presidential campaign, I understood that new Ukrainian army has been born during the last two months even despite the fact that our military forces has been being destroyed for decades. But from now on, our soldiers will be much better equipped and much better supplied, all of them will have life insurance and high salaries,” he said. He promised quick results. “The anti-terrorist operation won’t last for two months, it will last for hours,” he said.
Poroshenko leads with 53.8 percent after 65 percent of vote counted
May 26, 12:43 p.m. Front runner in the early presidential election in Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is leading with 53.78% of votes after over 65% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday morning.
The leader of Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Union Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.09%, Radical party leader Oleh Liashko won 9.49% of votes, leader of Civil Position Party Anatoliy Hrytsenko – 5.44%, and independent MP Sergiy Tigipko – 5.27%.
Besides, Svoboda Party leader Oleh Tiahnybok obtained 1.16% of the electors’ votes, and Right Sector Party leader Dmytro Yarosh – 0.68%.
In press conference, Poroshenko says Ukraine is united
May 26, 12:38 p.m. — Petro Poroshenko, presumptive winner of Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election, attributes his victory to the lack of serious political competition. “This time, the country was united and the people of Ukraine showed great wisdom and great ability to unite when it was so necessary for Ukraine,”
he said during his May 26 joint press conference at his headquarters with Kyiv Mayor-elect Vitali Klitschko at his side. Poroshenko also ensured that his main task is to ensure safety in the country’s east by talking to Russia’s leadership and making the government’s anti-terrorist operation more effective. “We should take this talks with Russia very seriously and get prepared. Russia’s last argument was that Ukraine doesn’t have legitimately elected authorities and now we do,” he said.
Poroshenko lead holds at 53.7 percent after 60 percent of votes counted
May 26, 11: 39 a.m. — Front runner in the early presidential election in Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is leading with 53.72% of votes after 60.15% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday morning. The leader of Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Union Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.09%, Radical party leader Oleh Liashko won 8.47% of votes, leader of Civil Position Party Anatoliy Hrytsenko – 5.47%, and independent MP Sergiy Tigipko – 5.24%. Besides, Svoboda Party leader Oleh Tiahnybok obtained 1.16% of the electors’ votes, and Right Sector Party leader Dmytro Yarosh – 0.68%.
Donetsk airport closed indefinitely by Kremlin-backed separatists
May 26, 11 a.m. — All flights to and from Donetsk Airport have been suspended after armed pro-Russian rebels paid a visit to the terminal overnight on May 26, the airport’s press service said in a statement. Here is the statement. The press service did not say when flights would resume, but that it would release a statement when they did. However, despite the imposition of martial law by the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic, all seems quiet this morning in Donetsk. Gunmen have been rampant for weeks already, but Ukraine’s government continues to insist it will be entering a more active phase.
Poroshenko leads with 54 percent of votes after 50 percent of votes counted
May 26, 10:20 a.m. Petro Poroshenko is leading with 53.86 percent of votes after 50.26 percent of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on May 26 morning. Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.1 percent, Oleh Liashko won 8.48 percent of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko – 5.48 percent, and Sergiy Tigipko – 5.18 percent.
Poroshenko leads with 54 percent after 45 percent of votes counted
Front runner in the early presidential election in Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is leading with 54.05% of votes after 45.28% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday morning. Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.13%, Oleh Liashko won 8.52% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.47%, and Sergiy Tigipko 5.09%.
Poroshenko leads with 54 percent of votes as 36 percent counted
May 26, 7:50 a.m. Petro Poroshenko is leading with 53.98% of votes after 36.02% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said.Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.12%, Oleh Liashko won 8.46% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.5%, and Sergiy Tigipko 5.12%.
Poroshenko leads with 54 percent of votes as 30 percent counted
May 26, 7:13 a.m. Front runner in the early presidential election in Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is leading with 54.09% of votes after 30.1% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC). Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.16%, Oleh Liashko won 8.5% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.53%, and Sergiy Tigipko 5.05%. Poroshenko holds the lead in all regions except for Dnipropetrovsk, which hasn’t provided data from its polling stations yet, the CEC said.
Poroshenko leads with 54 percent of votes as 25 percent counted
May 26, 6:57 a.m. Petro Poroshenko is leading with 54.14% of votes after 25.39% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday morning. Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.14%, Oleh Liashko won 8.48% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.53%, and Sergiy Tigipko 5.07%. Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.14%, Oleh Liashko won 8.48% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.53%, and Sergiy Tigipko 5.07%. Poroshenko holds the lead in all regions except for Dnipropetrovsk, which hasn’t provided data from its polling stations yet, the CEC said.
Poroshenko gets 54 percent of votes with 20 percent counted
May 26, 6:14 p.m. Front runner in the early presidential election in Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is leading with 54.39% of votes after 20.06% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said in the early hours of Monday, Interfax-Ukraine news service reports.
Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.2%, Oleh Liashko won 8.46% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.52%, and Sergiy Tigipko 4.97%.
Poroshenko holds the lead in all regions except for Dnipropetrovsk, which hasn’t provided data from its polling stations yet, the CEC said.
Poroshenko gets 54.56 percent of votes with 15.12 percent of electronic voting reports processed
May 26, 5:47 a.m. — Petro Poroshenko is leading with 54.56% of votes after 15.12% of electronic voting reports have been processed, the Central Election Commission said in the early hours of Monday, according to Interfax-Ukraine news service. Yulia Tymoshenko received 13.28%, Oleh Liashko won 8.48% of votes, Anatoliy Hrytsenko 5.53%, and Sergiy Tigipko 4.9%. Poroshenko holds the lead in all regions except for Dnipropetrovsk, which hasn’t provided data from its polling stations yet, the CEC said.
Obama congratulates Ukraine on presidential elections
9:41 p.m. — A statement from U.S. President Barack Obama:
“On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate the people of Ukraine for making their voices heard by voting in their presidential election today. Despite provocations and violence, millions of Ukrainians went to the polls throughout the country, and even in parts of eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatist groups sought to disenfranchise entire regions, some courageous Ukrainians still were able to cast their ballots. We commend the resolve of all those who participated, as well as the efforts of the Ukrainian government to conduct these elections in the face of those threats.
Throughout the last few months, the Ukrainian people have repeatedly demonstrated their desire to choose their leaders without interference and to live in a democracy where they can determine their own future free of violence and intimidation. This election is another important step forward in the efforts of the Ukrainian government to unify the country and reach out to all of its citizens to ensure their concerns are addressed and aspirations met.
The United States looks forward to working with the next [resident, as well as the democratically elected parliament, to support Ukraine’s efforts to enact important political and economic reforms. We also continue to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, condemn and reject Russia’s occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, and remain committed to working with Ukraine and other partners to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
Here is the link to the Obama statement
Petro Poroshenko wins big in Ukrainian presidential election
Two exit polls show Poroshenko winning in landslide
8 p.m. Two exit polls show Petro Porosenko got at least 56 percent of the nationwide vote, eliminating the need for a second-round runoff on June 15. Read the Kyiv Post story here
OPORA says 45 percent of people voted by 4 p.m.
7:20 p.m. OPORA election watchdog says more than 45 percent of Ukrainians voted in the early presidential election. In the west, some 52 percent of the voters came to the polls by that time, while in the south and east of the country the number stood at 37 percent.
Donetsk People’s Republic flag resembles American Confederate flag
7 p.m. — The flags of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the American Confederacy look a lot alike, whether by design or by accident. The fledgling, self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic has been in existence for less than a month, while the American South fought a civil war to secede from the rest of America, but surrendered on April 9, 1865. The similarities include a diagonal x in blue with red background. The flag is said to resemble the one of the short-lived Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic in 1918, before the Bolsheviks consolidated their hold over the territories of the former Soviet Union.
Shootout in Luhansk Oblast’s Novoaidar; at least one dead
6:44 p.m. — Three cars in Novoaidar in Luhansk Oblast were fired on. One of the cars contained election ballots, but had license plates of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic. Eyewitnesses said one gun man was killed and his mother wounded. Four Kremlin-backed insurgents arrived and asked frightened police officers what happened. The shooting highlights how edgy both Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists are behaving, with tensions high and itchy trigger fingers.
Observers say 15 out of 22 constituency election commissions not working in Donetsk Oblast
5:16 p.m. — The information according to Jock Mendoza-Wilson, spokesman for billionaire Rinat Akhmetov:
According to the information provided by the election observers on the morning of May 25, 15 of 22 constituency election commissions do not work in Donetsk Oblast: Donetsk, 41 ,42,43, 44, 45; Horlivka, 51,52; 53 – Yenakiyevo; 54 – Torez; 55 – Shakhtersk; 46 Artemovsk (some of he election commissions are open, but they don’t know what to do as they don’t have any ballots); 48th precinct – Kramatorsk; 56, 57 – Makeyevka; 60 precinct, Maryinka (the constituency election commission doesn’t work but some of the polling stations are open)
Some of the polling stations are open and are trying to organize the voting process in just seven electoral precincts:
47 precinct (Aleksandrovka) – Only 19 polling stations; in two election commissions, heads and secretariesr etired from responsibility but the commissions decided to continue working;
49 precinct (Dobropolye) – just 8 polling stations are not open in Dobropolye, including one station in Dobropolye district
50 precinct (Krasnoarmeysk). In Krasnoarmeysk, six polling stations are not open (out of 55).
58 precinct (Mariupol) – just four polling stations are not open
59 precinct (Mariupol) – 91 polling stations are open, 8 stations are closed;
61 precinct (Volnovakha) – Some of the polling stations have opened but early in the morning polling stations No. 140803, No.140800, No. 140792 have been seized by Donetsk People’s Republic representatives;
62 precinct (Starobeshevo)lthe electoral precincts are just receiving the voting bulletins. In Amvrosyevka, some unknown people have broken the windows of many buildings where the precinct election commissions sit.
Front-running presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko votes in Kyiv on May 25.
Voter turnout 9 percent in Donetsk by 3 p.m.
4:45 p.m. — The voter turnout is 9.11% at the presidential election in Donetsk region as of 3 p.m., according to the electronic indicator board in the Central Election Commission (CEC).
CEC said that information on the voter turnout in Donetsk region arrived from one election district – No. 49. There are 22 districts in Donetsk region.Currently CEC does not have information on the voting process in Luhansk region.
Ukrainian soldiers who came to polls
in Luhansk regions scared election officials and made them
flee
4: 15 p.m. — Oleksandr
Chernenko, head of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, an election
watchdog, said that Ukrainians soldiers who came to vote at a polling
station in Novovodyane village of Luhansk, scared election officials
who ran for their lives, thinking the armed men were separatists.
Chernenko says that the soldiers, who
are serving in that village, came dressed in full military outfits,
and carried weapons.
“This really scared members of
polling station, and the soldiers were left alone at the polling
station. It took some time to persuade members of the commission that
there is no danger. The military guys were in the voting lists, and
had a right to receive ballots,” Chernenko wrote on his Facebook
page.
Dozens of members of the pro-Russian Eastern Battalion shoot automatic weapons into the air on May 25 in the center of Donetsk.
Close
to 40 percent of Ukrainians voted by 3 p.m., according to CEC
evaluation
3:50
p.m. — An estimated 38.53 percent of Ukrainians voted in the ealry
presidential elections by 3 p.m, according to the Central Election
Commission. The data was harvested from a sample of 13 district
commissions out of 225.
High-level OSCE delegation visits Donetsk on May 24
3:17 p.m. — A high-level delegation of observers
for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe went to Donetsk on
May 24, to assess the voting situation and encourage people to vote. It
appears, however, that no voting is taking place in the city of Donetsk on May
25, while Donetsk Oblast has some polling stations open.
The delegation included: R. Spencer
Oliver, OSCE Parliament Assembly secretary general;
Ikka Kanerva, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly; Joao Soares,
special coordinator of the OSCE’s short-term observation mission for Ukraine’s
2014 presidential election; and Chrystia Freeland, the journalist and member of
Canada’s parliament.
Richard Solash, communications
director of the OSCE PA, said the delegation met with an adviser to
interim Donetsk Governor and other election official. He said it is hoped that “their
presence should send the message” for people to vote.
Solash would not confirm reports that the delegation, which
stayed only several hours in Donetsk, were flown to Donetsk in the private jet
of billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, saying only that the delegation “got their by
private arrangement.”
OPORA shows 25 percent national turnout by noon on May 25
2:32 p.m. More evidence emerged that Ukraine may be heading for a record voter turnout in the May 25 presidential election. OPORA, the election watchdog, says that 25 percent of voters turned out by noon, with the lowest turnout naturally in the separatist-infiltrated eastern regions. But that quarter of the nation still had 22 percent turnout, OPORA said.
Voter turnout 17.52 percent as of 11 p.m.
2:30 pm. Voter turnout hit 17.52 percent for the presidential election by 11 a.m., according to the Central Election Commission.
Voting under way in Novoaidar of Luhansk Oblast
2:27 p.m. — While the streets are almost empty, voting is under way in Novoaidar in Luhansk Oblast, located near the Russian border between districts controlled by separatists and Ukrainian army. The local House of Culture sports a big Ukrainian flag. Despite many rumors that the elections here will be disrupted, one polling station visited and had more than 200 people vote by 2 p.m. out of 1,800 registered voters. At one polling station, a 58-year-old former local water supply station’s worker, came to vote wearing a St. George’s ribbon — a symbol of the Kremlin-backed separatists. He said the ribbon belonged to his grandfather and that his wife tied it to his shirt. But he said he didn’t participate in the May 11 referendum to secede from Ukraine. He voted for ex-deputy prime minister Yuriy Boiko. “I’m Ukrainian and so and this is my citizen’s dignity to vote here,” he said. Members of the election commission think the turnout will be less than 50 percent here. “People are afraid even to let their children walk the streets,” said Oksana Mordasova, head of the election commision at this polling station.
Armed Kremlin-backed separatists march on Akhmetov’s house, Taruta’s hotel in Donetsk
2:14 p.m. A dangerous situation is brewing in Donetsk Oblast, as some 2,000 armed pro-Rusisan separatists and their supporters left a rally in Donetsk’s Lenin Square with orders to march to the home of billionaire Rinat Akhmetov in the city. A smaller group, armed with Kalashnikovs and other weapons, stormed interim Donetsk Governor Sergiy Taruta’s Victoria Hotel looking for him. They left because he wasn’t there. The anti-Akhmetov crowd chanted: “Akhmetov is an enemy of the people.”
Here’s some video of the group: http://amurburg.ru/news/offtop/storonniki_dnr_i_vooruzhennye_lyudi_dvinulis_iz_tsentra_donetska_k_rezidentsii_akhmetova_translyatsi/
Here’s the live stream outside Akhmetov’s house: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/newsfront2
Akhmetov spokesman Jock Mendoza-Wilson says that Akhmetov is in Kyiv on May 25.
Crimeans form convoy to vote in Kherson Oblast
1:59 p.m. Around 15 cars travelled to Kherson Oblast from Simferopol this morning carrying Crimeans who wanted to vote. Four cars were stopped en route and their license plates were recorded by traffic police who deemed them to be a convoy but otherwise voters encountered no difficulties on the journey to the border crossing, according to Eskender Bariyev, one of the voters.
Chechens arrive to take part in Vostok Battalion in Donetsk
1:54 p.m. Several troops in Vostok Battalion speaking Chechen today. One woman asks one of them, “Where are you from? Russia?” Man’s answer: “Chechnya.”
Siumar says there is a record-breaking turnout
1:50 p.m. — Viktoria Siumar, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said there is a record-breaking turnout at this election. “We’re getting information from all regions on record turnout. In the most troublesome – in Donetsk and Luhansk – more than 1,000 polling stations are open. In some districts, soch as Dobropillya, Svatovo, there is not a single polling station working. Even though the terrorists had a task of totally disrupting the election, the high turnout is an answer of Ukrainians to those who, in the last three months, and sparing no resources, tried to make a failed state out of Ukraine and demand extrernal governance. The answer is persuasive,” Siumar wrote on her Facebook page.
Two leading candidates vote; Poroshenko in Kyiv, Tymoshenko in Dnipropetrovsk
Low turnout in Donetsk Oblast
1:35 p.m. The Committee of Voters of Ukraine, an election watchdog, reports a low turnout in a handful of open polling stations in Donetsk Oblast, where only seven district commissions of 15 opened today.
“At the polling stations that opened up, the turnout by 11 a.m. was five percent,” Oleksandr Chernenko, head of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine tweeted.
Kyivans upbeat about voting
1:34 p.m. Lidia Wolanskyj, the author
and journalist who founded Eastern Economist, offers her observation of voting
in Kyiv today:
Went to district 800, polling station 402 on bul. Verkhovnoyi Rady 15 in Darnytsia. Masses of people in a tiny, narrow space with 6 ballot boxes! The mood is upbeat, people smiling, here and there a vyshvanka, parents with kids in buggies, even the odd dog or two.
While my friend Shaun Williams takes pictures of the action, I turn to an older woman in a chair to my right: “Pretty amazing turnout,” I say to her. “I’ve never seen anything like this ever before,” she smiles, answering me in Ukrainian. “The mood is very positive too.” “I guess people came out early to vote so that they can go to their dachas today?” “No,” she replied, “they’ve come in from their dachas to vote!” We chat briefly as a young woman in an embroidered blouse plays with her baby and elderly people shuffle leaning out on their canes.
The good mood is palpable. No fear, no suspicion. A couple of security folks in the foyer who mind their own business and don’t even go into the voting area. No strange men in camo hanging around, no fear as in the last 10 years when Yanukovych & Co were always the unknown factor on any vote.
An even older woman sits to my left. I make the same comment to her. “I can’t believe it! This is so amazing! I have never seen this kind of turn out before, never!” she says, tears springing to her eyes. “I’m just so happy.” She switches to Ukrainian. “Finally.” And we start talking about everything that has been happening in recent months while people keep dropping their ballots (there’s one for the 21 presidential candidates, one for the umpteen candidates for Mayor of Kyiv, and three ballots with all the myriad parties for the Kyiv City Council). Some sit down in chairs to review the lists and orient themselves. Others are coming out of their booths and folding their five ballots into the slot. The boxes are slowly filling up.
A native Kyivite, this woman slowly switches back to Russian as she tells me her husband is in line to vote here. “What about you? Don’t you live together?” “Oh, of course we do, but I’m registered in another station. I’ll be voting down the street.” She tells me about how she has asked God to forgive her for hating Putin, “But I just can’t help it. I cannot love him.” Just then, her husband walks up, ballots in hand. “D’you have a pen?” His wife does not, but I do, so I give him mine. And he goes off to cast his vote.
Meanwhile, my daughter has finally come out of the voting booth (the registration line took more than an hour to go through!). Shaun captures her casting her ballot. Time to go. Kyiv is in safe hands!
And then I think, if it weren’t for Kyiv there would not have been any Maidan. Not in 2004. Not in 2014.
Luhansk news site offers reliable
updates (for those who read Russian)
1:24 p.m. Here are samples of Informator
Luhansk’s May 24 reports, courtesy of author and journalist Lidia Wolanskyj:
(1) Alchevsk: Luhansk National Republic militants unexpectedly attacked the
TV station and turned off Ukrainian channels, which had until now been
broadcasting without disruption, and dispersed the district electoral committee. Voters may be left without
information about the progress of the vote and any dangerous situations.
(2) LNR militants are arming students in the
region.
(3) LNR militants may be behind the shooting of a
young man and woman on the outskirts of the city of Luhansk.
(4) In Stakhanov, Luhansk Oblast, 5 LNR terrorists
were publicly displayed on Saturday to separatist shouts from the large crowd
on the main square. Four were killed in battle, the fifth died in hospital. One
of the men left 11 orphans behind (sic). The announcement was made that anyone
who voted on Sunday would be declared an “enemy of the people of the
LNR.”
(5) A young leader of PLAST, a Ukrainian national
scout organization, writes about her kidnapping by LNR on May 18, after a
picnic with the children in her troop.
Here is the link to the site: http://informator.lg.ua/
Kremlin-backed separatists have ambitious plans for ‘New Russia’
1:14 p.m. The Kremlin-backed separatists are
circulating the first edition of their NovoRussiya newspapaper, which certainly
suggests they will not be backing off their plan to conquer and dismember large
parts of Ukraine after the May 25 presidential election.
The newspaper includes a map that
claims Ukrainian territory as far west as Kharkiv, Kirovograd and Odessa
oblasts – roughly the eastern half of the nation and much of the south to the
Moldovan border.
OPORA: Minor mistakes, violations in voters’ lists
1:05 p.m. The observers of OPORA, the biggest election watchdog in Ukraine, is reporting many technical mistakes in voter lists. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, for example, in many cases there are mistakes in addresses of voters, some people are missing in the list, and there are many minor mistakes in the names.
“The impression is that the lists are not updates, that the polling stations got an older version of the lists,” says Yuriy Panasiuk, who is monitoring the election in Synelnykovo, a village in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Other OPORA monitors say they are seeing the same problem in Kyiv. Generally, OPORA recorded 407 violations in the course of the election campaign until now.
Kremlin-backed separatists hold rally in front of Lenin Square in Donetsk
12:49 p.m. Separatists leader speaking to crowd of some 300 people at Donetsk’s Lenin square: “The country of Ukraine is dead here. Our country is the country of Novorossiya!” Crowd applauds and chants “Rossiya!” About 80 pro-Russian Vostok Battalion militiamen arrived at Lenin Square for the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic rally. Hundreds of supporters clapping and chanting in support of “Our heroes!” Elderly women greeting them with kisses and hugs. Men shaking their hands. Several of the battalion are carrying mortars. All have Kalashnikovs. Several of the men speaking a language that is not Russian or Ukrainian. Several look ethnically different. Caucasian. Battalion just lined up at Lenin Square, pointed Kalashnikovs in air and fired several dozen round in salute. All in all, about eight trucks each with 20 armed men showed up.
Kremin-backed separatists fire gunshots in celebration of obstructing Ukraine’s presidential election in Donetsk.
Akhmetov’s spokesman writes about voting preparations in Donetsk
12:27 p.m. — From a post on May 24 by Jock Mendoza-Wilson, spokesman for billionaire Rinat Akhmetov of Donetsk: “I have spent the day in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine speaking and meeting with those people here who are working day and night to try and secure citizens the right to vote in tomorrow’s vital presidential elections. What strikes me most is that in spite of intimidation, fear and threats, ordinary citizens, election officials and the regional government are working tirelessly to try secure the fundamental freedom of the right to vote. It will be tough as the elections are a target for wholesale disruption by the violence of the small minority of separatists in this region. But each polling station opened, each vote cast, will be a triumph of the vote over the bullet and democracy over violence.”
Kyiv’s Obolon district, polling station 480 has long lines
12:23 p.m. — Yet another report of long lines in Kyiv, this time at the Obolon district, polling station 480, where people waited for more than 90 minutes in line to get their chance to vote, indicative of the high turnout expected.
In separatist-held Donetsk, ballot boxes thrown out as trash
12:18 p.m. — Ballot boxes outside separatist-occupied Donetsk regional state administration building are marked with the words “trash,” highlighting the obvious problems for 10 percent of Ukrainians who at trying to vote in the presidential election.
Private guards seen at some polling stations in Kyiv
11:55 a.m. — There are several teams of private security guards working at some polling stations in Kyiv, says Margaret Warner, a journalist of PBS News Hour, who is covering presidential elections in Ukraine.
“We’ve been to a couple of polling stations and at one of them, there were some private lightly armed security guards from a firm called Sirius. They said they basically a corporate, private security firm – and they don’t know who the ‘client’ is who hired them today,” Warner said. “They said they have 12 teams working around the city today, all in communication, and so far no one had seen any sign of trouble.”
Long queues at polling stations in Kyiv, CEC official says
11:20 a.m. — Andriy Magera, deputy head of the
Central Election Commission, said there were long lines in Kyiv’s
polling stations because each of the voters is getting four ballots
for three different elections – the presidential election, the
mayoral election and two ballots for the city council election. He
wrote on his Facebook page that, combined with lack of experience of
officials at polling stations, that has complicated the voting
process. He urged Kyivans not to give up, though, and exercise their
right. Below is the full text of his post.
“I want to apologize to the citizens
for long lines at polling stations. Of course there are objective
reasons for it – we need to give four ballots to each voter. The
last time such number of ballots was issued was in 2006 . And many
polling station members have no experience. The vast majority of them
are conscientious and decent people.
I am lucky at my polling stations,
which only has 1,400 voters. This is why there are no queues. In the
future, we must do everything in order to reduce the number of voters
at every polling station by increasing the number of polling stations
themselves.
Unfortunately, there is a catastrophic
shortage of facilities in both urban and rural areas.This is why it’s
unreasonable to criticize the local authorities.
I urge you to show understanding about
long lines at polling stations. The voice of every voter is important. Once again I apologize for the inconvenience. We inevitably will
elect a new president!”
Ukrainian army stops near Karlivka
11:10 a.m. — Near Karlivka, Donetsk Oblast: The five armored personnel carriers have pulled back and are now hunkered down at a checkpoint some 20 kilometers west of the rebel checkpoint in Karlivka, Donetsk Oblast. The stretch of highway between is mostly empty. The few cars passing through are carrying journalists.
Confrontation brewing between Ukrainian army, separatists in Donetsk Oblast
10:45 a.m — On the road from Krasnoarmiisk to Donetsk in Donetsk Oblast: Five Ukrainian armored personnel carriers with some 15 troops are closing in on Kremlin-backed armed rebels at the Karlivka checkpoint. They are dangerously close to each other now.
A vote for Poroshenko in Luhansk Oblast’s Svatovo
10:35 a.m. — In Svatovo, Luhansk Oblast: Yury Irkha, businessman, 46, came to vote with his wife, daughter and little granddaughter. He said he voted for Petro Poroshenko. “Poroshenko is giving work to many, he is a famous businessman, known and respected in entire world,” he explained his choice. Liubov Matviyevska, 56, business woman, said she voted for Poroshenko as he was the only candidate able to win in first round. “And we need to choose president in first round as this way we could save Ukraine,” she said.
A vote for Poroshenko in Donetsk Oblast’s Krasnoarmiisk
A middle-aged man who did not give his name said he had cast his vote for Petro Poroshenko. “He is the only choice,” he said. “There is no other candidate who could win.” One woman, Anastasia, was turned away from the Palace of Culture polling station after election workers could not find her name of the list of eligible voters. “I don’t know where I can go to vote,” she said.
Fear depresses turnout in Svatovo polling station in Luhansk Oblast
10 a.m. — In Svatovo, Luhansk Oblast: More than 120 people cast their ballots at polling station located in school No 2 in Svatovo by 10 a.m., two hours after voting began. “Yet this is much less than usual. I remember previous times it was a long line of people willing to vote at this time,” said Tetiana Yatsyna, 24, an economist. Yatsyna said she voled for Mykhailo Dobkin. “He is from Kharkiv, which is close to us. But honestly I didn’t know which candidate to choose.” Halyna Korostiy, a member of election commision at this stationm said that in previous years, the number of voters was four times higher by this time. “But now people are very scared,” she said, adding that three members of thier commission refused to work here because of fears for their personal safety. Still Svatovo district, along with Starobilsk district, are the only two where elections are expected to happen in the entire Luhansk Oblast.
Editor’s Note: This article has been produced with support from www.mymedia.org.ua, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by a joint venture between NIRAS and BBC Media Action, as well as Ukraine Media Project, managed by Internews and funded by the United States Agency for International Development. The content is independent of these organizations and is solely the responsibility of the Kyiv Post.
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