Parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian rebels have voted on independence in polls the West has slammed as illegal amid fears they could fan violence into full civil war and lead to the break-up of the ex-Soviet republic.
Fighting flared on the outskirts of the flashpoint town of Slavyansk, where rebels tried to seize back a local television tower from Ukrainian troops. Tensions were high elsewhere.
But in the centre of Slavyansk and surrounding towns, voters lined up calmly to cast ballots on self-rule for their two provinces, being asked to answer yes or no to the question: "Do you approve of independence for the People's Republic of Donetsk?" and for neighbouring Lugansk.
"I want to be independent from everyone," said ex-factory worker Nikolai Cherepin as he voted yes in the town of Mariupol, in Donetsk province.
"Yugoslavia broke up and they live well now".
Kiev has dismissed the so-called "referendums" addressed to seven million of Ukraine's total 46 million inhabitants as illegitimate and unconstitutional.
Its Western backers echo that, but are concerned a yes result could scupper plans for a nationwide May 25 presidential elections seen as crucial for restoring stability.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly distanced himself from Sunday's vote, making an appeal for it to be postponed, but was ignored by the rebels.
A poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Centre in the United States suggested 70 per cent of Ukrainians in the east want to stay in a united country, while only 18 per cent back secession.
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