Voters in eastern Ukraine head to the polls Sunday to cast ballots in a contested sovereignty referendum that could peel away more territory and move it closer to Moscow. Pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk, who have engaged in deadly gun battles with Ukrainian security forces in recent weeks, insisted on holding the vote despite objections from international observers. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin last week called for the referendum to be postponed due to concerns about its legitimacy.
Early reports say there are long lines and chaotic scenes at some polling stations, with armed men in military fatigues spooking locals into voting. There have also been scattered reports of possible election fraud. ABC News snapped an image of a woman appearing to cast two ballots at once, while the BBC reported that a man not registered to vote at a polling place was allowed to do so anyway.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
June 29 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the MediterraneanThe Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare worksThe Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custodySpeed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulingsSpeed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood fundsSpeed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat goneSpeed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensiveSpeed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer saysSpeed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primarySpeed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportationsSpeed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
