-- Self-appointed leaders of the Ukrainian separatist region of Donetsk appealed to Russia to consider absorbing it to "restore historic justice" and to send in troops.
-- Pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk said they would not allow voting for the May 25 presidential election to be conducted.
-- Diplomats say the European Union agreed to impose sanctions against 13 additional individuals and two companies, believed to be the first time the EU has targeted companies over the Ukraine crisis.
-- Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov called the votes a "sham" and the United States said they were illegal and merely "an attempt to create further division and disorder in the country."
-- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service said one of its affiliate radio stations in Donetsk was taken off the air by gunmen and replaced by a pro-Russian broadcaster.
-- The Kremlin said Ukrainian officials in Kyiv should hold talks with pro-Russian separatists on the results of the self-rule referendums, adding that it respected the "expression of the people's will."
A womans steps out of a polling booth in the village of Khryashchuvate.
10:5711.5.2014
10:5711.5.2014
10:5511.5.2014
Our Central Newsroom reports that separatist officials in both provinces are claiming an "overwhelming" voter turnout. Pro-Ukraine media, however, said overall voter turnout in the two regions -- where the population is about 6.5 million people -- was low.
10:5211.5.2014
10:3711.5.2014
Voters in Mariupol, said to be standing outside waiting to vote in the referendum.
10:3011.5.2014
A man casts his ballot along with a dozen or so others in the village of Ternove near Luhansk. There doesn't appear to be any privacy in the vote-casting. No voting booths or curtains to hide behind.
