MOSCOW, May 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Results of Sunday referendum in the largely Russian-speaking Luhansk and Donetsk regions in east Ukraine send an important signal to Kiev authorities pushing them towards reforming the state's form of government, the vice speaker of the Federation Council upper house of Russian parliament, Ilyas Umakhanov, told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

“Referendum is the most democratic form of declaration of people’s will and it is not important whether these actions have legal validity, whether they are recognised or not,” the senator said.

He said the polls had demonstrated the mood of the people. “This is an important signal for the Kiev regime that a lot must be changed, including the state's form of government and the public administration system,” the politician said. “Time, on the one hand, will show how they will see this signal while on the other hand, this depends on the recommendations Western partners give to the regime,” the vice speaker said.