SLOVIANSK, May 12. /ITAR-TASS/. In the town of Sloviansk as many as 97.5% of those who participated in last Sunday’s referendum voted for the state independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the head of the territorial election commission, Vilia Bakhtashevich told ITAR-TASS.

The official said the turnout for the referendum was as high as 72.1% (72,575 residents of the town besieged by the Ukrainian forces, and 70,743 of them supported the state independence act of the DPR).

On Sunday the polling stations in Sloviansk had to stay open longer than expected, till 22:00 despite the night-time curfew effective from 20:00.

The voting was held amid high tensions. Shots were heard on Sunday morning. On Monday the Ukrainian forces resumed the punitive operation. At about 06:00 Moscow time the town came under mortar fire from the area of the TV tower on Mount Karachun. The national guards were targeting road blocks, but according to some reports several homes were hit.