Barring any breaking events, this concludes our live blogging for the evening. Here's an overview of today's events from our news desk.
In news from the rest of Ukraine, members of a group within the upstart Self Reliance party have announced that they will split off from the faction in parliament.
Expect to hear a lot like this from the Russian side. Aleksandr Kots, a pro-separatist journalist for the Russian "Komsomolskaya Pravda" tabloid tweets, "Donbas has legitimized its power."
Here are some quick takeaways from an eventful day in Eastern Ukraine
-- As has already been widely reported, today's vote in Ukraine's separatist republics will not be recognized by the West. From the point of view of the leaders of the self-proclaimed "DNR" and "LNR" however, this may be irrelevant, because Moscow has given every indication that it will recognize them. In theory, this will allow Moscow to more publicly deal with the separatists as a government separate from Ukraine.
-- Drawing official turnout figures will be nearly impossible. Nonetheless, reports on the ground showed long lines of people and in interviews, many were less enchanted with separatist leaders than bitterly angry with Ukraine's leadership in Kyiv. The war in eastern Ukraine has taken a heavy toll and it is clear that many in Donetsk and Luhansk blame Ukraine.
-- In the weeks leading up to this vote, many had talked about it signaling the start of a long-running frozen conflict, with de-facto borders. However, reports that Russian military personnel and equipment are again entering Ukraine in large numbers may mean something altogether different. Separatist leaders have said they plan to reclaim lost territories and also the important port city of Mariupol. And its not just about land -- areas currently in Ukrainian control have resources that may be necessary to maintain viable services, including electricity.
-- Russia appears to be testing the West again. The vote today was a clear violation of the Minsk agreement, signed by Russia, which stipulated that early elections in separatist-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk would have to take place under Ukrainian law. Does the EU -- now distracted by other international events -- have the wherewithal to continue, and add to, the sanctions already in place against Russia? What is the EU prepared to do if Russia escalates the conflict militarily?
"DNR" exit polls: Zakharchenko gets 81%
According to the exit poll results provided by the self-proclaimed republic's election commission, the current self-styled PM has been elected to continue to lead the separatist republic. His party has also dominated the vote for the so-called Supreme Soviet, winning 65 percent.
Marton Gyongyosy, an "observer" from Hungary's far-right Jobbik party, tells RT "from an organizational standpoint, these elections were carried out at a high level despite the fact that they took place under such unusual circumstances."
He also once said this: