UKRAINE: Pro-Russian rebels in Kramatorsk refuse to participate in Ukraine's presidential election
Record ID:
645094
UKRAINE: Pro-Russian rebels in Kramatorsk refuse to participate in Ukraine's presidential election
- Title: UKRAINE: Pro-Russian rebels in Kramatorsk refuse to participate in Ukraine's presidential election
- Date: 25th May 2014
- Summary: KRAMATORSK, UKRAINE (MAY 25, 2014) (REUTERS) WIDE OF BARRICADED KRAMATORSK CITY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING VARIOUS OF PRO-RUSSIAN SEPARATISTS OUTSIDE BARRICADES (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) "VODOLAZ" PRO-RUSSIAN SEPARATIST MILITANT, SAYING: "Why elect the president in a foreign country? (Presidential) election is not happening here, nobody prepared for it and nobody is ready got it." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ANDREI KOMYSHANSKI, KRAMATORSK RESIDENT, SAYING: "What elections are you talking about when yesterday the Federal State of Novorossia was declared? This is the territory of the Federal State of Novorossia, so what kind of elections are you talking about? It is a free state which has chosen its position and its way." BARRICADED ENTRANCE TO KRAMATORSK ADMINISTRATION BUILDING WIDE OF SQUARE WITH LENIN STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) KRAMATORSK RESIDENT, SAYING: "(Ukraine's presidential) election is not happening, at least it is not happening here." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DMITRY, KRAMATORSK RESIDENT, SAYING: "To vote, it is necessary to go to another city. And to get to another city we need to get through a number of check points manned by Ukrainian military and non-Ukrainian military. So we are having a walk here." DMITRY WITH HIS CHILD AND WIFE WALKING AWAY VARIOUS OF PRO-RUSSIAN MILITANTS
- Embargoed: 9th June 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ukraine
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA571VSQYU39I7L4ZHQEVD9CN8F
- Story Text: Ukrainians were not able to vote on Sunday (May 25) in a presidential election in the Eastern city of Kramatorsk, which is held by pro-Russian separatist militia.
Only about 20 percent of the polling stations in the heavily industrialized, Russian-speaking Donetsk region, which has 3.3 million registered voters, were working as of 9:30 a.m. (2.30 a.m. EDT), authorities said. None were open in the city of Kramatorsk.
"Why elect the president in a foreign country? (Presidential) election is not happening here, nobody prepared for it and nobody is ready got it," pro-Russian separatist said.
Kramatorsk residents complained that to take part in the vote they needed to travel outside the town.
"To vote, it is necessary to go to another city. And to get to another city we need to get through a number of check points manned by Ukrainian military and non-Ukrainian military. So we are having a walk here," Dmitry said.
Ukrainians voted on Sunday in a presidential election billed as the most important since they won their independence from Moscow 23 years ago, but armed pro-Russian separatists disrupted voting in eastern regions of the former Soviet republic. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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