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Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.
Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.
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Live Blog: UN Backs Ukraine Integrity

Final Summary For March 27

-- The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution that affirms Ukraine's territorial integrity.

-- The IMF has announced "a staff-level agreement" with Kyiv on assistance of $14 billion-$18 billion in conjunction with a reform program that will "unlock" up to $27 billion over the next two years, pending final approval next month. Tthe U.S. Congress has also passed an aid bill for Ukraine.

-- Ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced plans to run for president.

-- Members of the Right Sector have been holding a demonstration outside the Ukrainian parliament building to vent their anger at the killing of prominent member Oleksander Muzychko earlier in the week.

-- Six Ukrainian military officers detained by pro-Russian troops in Crimea have been released, including Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, but five others are still being held captive.

-- Anonymous sources quoted by CNN say U.S. intelligence "concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine."

-- U.S. President Barack Obama, in the keynote speech of his visit to Europe, chided Russia for its use of "brute force" in Ukraine and vowed that a determined alliance of the United States and Europe will prevail over time.


*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
11:50 16.3.2014
Crimean authorities quoted by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service say 30 percent of those eligible have already voted.

11:52 16.3.2014
Don't forget, our Ukrainian Service is live-blogging the referendum day, too (in Ukrainian).

12:06 16.3.2014
RFE/RL Ukraine Service's live video feed from Kharkhiv:

12:12 16.3.2014

Referendum In Crimea

An armed man, believed to be Russian serviceman, stands guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol.
1/10 An armed man, believed to be Russian serviceman, stands guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Simferopol, the administrative capital of Crimea.
2/10 A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Simferopol, the administrative capital of Crimea.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
A man shows an identity document, emblazoned with the former USSR coat of arms, at a polling station in Simferopol.
3/10 A man shows an identity document, emblazoned with the former USSR coat of arms, at a polling station in Simferopol.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov (center) leaves a voting booth to cast his ballot in Simferopol.
4/10 Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov (center) leaves a voting booth to cast his ballot in Simferopol.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
A woman looks at her ballot paper before casting her vote in the village of Pionerskoye.
5/10 A woman looks at her ballot paper before casting her vote in the village of Pionerskoye.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
A member of the pro-Russian "self-defense" forces that emerged in Crimea alongside the Russian occupation shows his ballot at a polling station.
6/10 A member of the pro-Russian "self-defense" forces that emerged in Crimea alongside the Russian occupation shows his ballot at a polling station.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
People sign in to vote at a polling station in Sevastopol.
7/10 People sign in to vote at a polling station in Sevastopol.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
An elderly woman leaves a polling booth in the Crimean capital.
8/10 An elderly woman leaves a polling booth in the Crimean capital.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
Election officials carry a mobile ballot box to a home in the village of Pionerskoye.
9/10 Election officials carry a mobile ballot box to a home in the village of Pionerskoye.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, stand guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye.
10/10 Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, stand guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye.
Voting began on March 16 in a disputed referendum in Crimea, the Ukrainian region currently occupied by Russian troops, where inhabitants are being asked whether the peninsula should secede and become part of the Russian Federation or remain in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Western states say the vote is "illegitimate," while Moscow insists it is "in line with international law."
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12:16 16.3.2014
Kyiv's Inter Television quoting Refat Chubarov, Crimea's chief mufti and the current head of the Mejlis, as saying Crimean Tatars are boycotting the referendum:

"We Crimean Tatars have never taken part in clown shows and circuses," he says.

12:32 16.3.2014
Interfax quoting pro-Russia Crimean leader Sergei Askyonov as saying turnout near "45 to 50 percent" throughout the peninsula.

12:38 16.3.2014
Crimea's pro-Russia leader Sergei Aksyonov told Russia 24 Television that the Crimean Supreme Council (Eds. which the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv dissolved on March 15) will hold a session at 10:00 a.m. on March 17 to adopt the referendum results.

12:57 16.3.2014
EuroMaidan points out this unique voting cabinet:

13:00 16.3.2014
"According to the information from polling stations, people are lining up. We have not had this kind of high activity from so early in the morning since Soviet times."

-- Crimean Electoral Commission head Mikhail Malyshev, as quoted by Reuters during a news conference in Simferopol

13:03 16.3.2014
Reuters speaks to voters in Simferopol:

"There has been no improvement over 20 years. Now we expect it. Everybody is expressing their will now. And the will of the people should be a sacred thing, not the will of the government that creates laws to suit themselves."
-- Vitaly


"It is such a festive day! I am so happy that I want to cry. My sister is 75 years old, she was born in the Soviet Union, and -- can you imagine -- all this time she has been dreaming to die in Russia. And now her dream has come true."
-- Lyudmila

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