KIEV, May 20 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian Central Election Commission has announced that self-defense forces has captured 11 district election commissions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported Tuesday.
According to the report, six district election commissions were captured Tuesday in the Donetsk region (Donetsk, Artemivsk, Horlivka, Kramatorsk, Yenakiieve, Torez) and five in the Luhansk region (Luhansk, Krasnodon, Krasnyi Luch, Antratsyt).
Early presidential elections were scheduled in Ukraine after legitimate president Victor Yanukovich was ousted late February following the so-called Euromaidan mass rallies in Kiev. Citizens of mainly Russian-speaking southeast of Ukraine refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the country’s interim government and announced referendums on self-determination in several major regions to be held on May 11.
Donetsk People’s Republic Co-Chairman Denis Pushilin announced the DPR would not participate in Ukraine’s upcoming presidential election on May 25.
The announcement followed a statement by Southeastern Army Press Secretary Vasiliy Nikitin that the neighboring Luhansk People’s Republic was also not planning to participate in the vote.
Moscow’s position on the upcoming Ukrainian presidential election will depend on the conditions and manner of their conduct, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week.
