KIEV, May 11, /ITAR-TASS/. The mobile communications are restored with east Ukraine’s Donetsk regional town of Krasny Liman where a referendum on self-determination of Donetsk Region continues, member of the referendum committee in the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic Sergey Tretyakov told reporters on Sunday.
“Nothing threatens the plebiscite, though Ukrainian law enforcement agencies had taken several attempts to hamper the continuing referendum,” he said.
Law enforcers “had to retreat” after the clash with representatives of the Donetsk people’s republic, Tretyakov said. He also noted that several people were wounded in the town of Krasny Liman.
On Sunday morning, the mobile communications were lost with two territorial referendum committees in the town of Krasny Liman. According to preliminary reports, militiamen clashed with Ukrainian law enforcers during a punitive operation in the town, co-chairman of the government of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic Denis Pushilin told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
“Armed people, a certain “national guard’ are intimidating people in a district and are moving military hardware from one settlement to another,” in east Ukraine’s Lugansk region, where a referendum on self-determination of the region is also under way, representative of the Lugansk referendum press centre Vasily Nikitin told Itar-Tass.
Polling stations opened at 8am local time (6am BST) in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Several polling stations will be open until 10pm (8pm BST) on Sunday. However, polling stations will close earlier between 6pm and 8pm in many cities and villages in these Ukrainian regions.
Referendum results will be announced on Monday, May 12.