Across town...
As he arrived at Kyiv's House of Officers to cast his vote, Poroshenko told RFE/RL he would continue fighting if he lost the election and made a last-minute pitch to voters.
About a comic and political novice winning the election, he said: "It's not funny."
"At first it can and will be fun, but then it can be painful," Poroshenko told reporters.
"For Ukraine, this [election] is a decisive choice," he continued, adding that a vote for Zelenskiy could mean "the return of Ukraine back to the influence of the Russian Empire."
Dinara Habibullaieva, a pro-Poroshenko youth organizer who has advised the president on the campaign trail, told RFE/RL at the House of Officers where she came to support the current president, that she was worried about the progress made under Poroshenko being rolled back under Zelenskiy.
Habibullaieva cited European integration, visa-free travel, a revamped military, and laws elevating the Ukrainian language as achievements she was proud of.
"I think no president before managed to do these things," she said. "For me and for our Ukrainian youth, this was very big."
She said she was very worried about the outcome of the election and what may come from a Zelenskiy presidency.
"Our president should be strong and brave...in a country which is under pressure from Russia and Russian aggression," she said, adding that she believed Poroshenko was that person.
"People could elect this showman," she said in a reference to Zelenskiy.
She hoped people would "think responsibly" and vote for Poroshenko, which she likened to voting for a "European future."
Comments by Ukrainian journalist and political analyst Vitaly Portnikov to Current Time, a project led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA:
“Essentially, we are witnessing the collapse of the state of Ukraine that was founded in 2014, which was preceded by the collapse of the corrupt Yanukovych’s state. Right now, we’ve got Zelenskiy – of whom we are completely unaware as to how capable he will be to run the country – and four oligarchs who taught Poroshenko a lesson: If you touch us, if you fail to stick to your promises [to us], and if you believe you can get away with it by simply relying on the people, you’re wrong, because we control TVs and we control jobs in the country.
"The state of 2014 will continue gasping for air after today’s election, but what’s to come is one big unknown. Another oligarchic state? More of the same with new faces?
"The true answer can only be expected after the parliamentary elections in the fall.”
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
