12.05 Referendum in Ukraine Shows Citizens Distrust Kiev – Russian Official

MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – The recent referendum in southeastern Ukraine has demonstrated that local citizens do not trust the authorities in Kiev, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber said in a statement released Monday.

“The very fact that this referendum was held and the number of people who showed up is important. Because it shows the population of eastern Ukraine has a significant level of mistrust towards Kiev’s authorities. We understand that [the referendum] was held in extremely severe conditions, basically amid civil war,” Maxim Grigoryev said, according to a statement posted on the chamber's website.

He added that Kiev has put a lot of pressure on the regions holding the referendums.

“We know that in certain regions letters were sent out saying that the schools where voting polls for the referendum were set up are declared to be terrorist bases,” Grigoryev said.

“But even taking into account such pressure [the referendum] was held and showed this result, which proves Ukraine is currently in a state of civil war,” he added.

On Sunday, Donetsk and Luhansk federalization supporters held a referendum on the status of the two regions. Residents were asked to answer the following question: "Do you support state independence for the people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk?" According to preliminary data, over 90 percent of voters said "yes" to independence.

The current authorities in Kiev launched a military operation last month to crack down on pro-federalization activists, but failed to prevent the referendums despite violent clashes that led to dozens of victims across southeastern Ukraine.