Tensions Roil Eve Of Secession Referendum In Eastern Ukraine -- Washington Post
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — The city council here declared Saturday a day of mourning after Friday’s heavy fighting between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian security forces left at least seven people dead, as eastern Ukraine continued to seethe with separatist passions on the eve of a referendum to secede.
The deadly firefight Friday broke the calm of a patriotic holiday and heightened tensions ahead of Sunday’s hastily organized plebiscite to break with the interim government in Kiev. Late Friday, a group of unidentified assailants attacked and briefly detained several Red Cross volunteers, including a French citizen, at an office in Donetsk.
Iryna Tsaryuk, an employee of the Ukrainian office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kiev, told the Interfax news service Saturday that the seven employees who had been taken captive were released about 2 a.m. and that one had been hospitalized after a severe beating. She told the news service that the Red Cross volunteers had brought medicine to Donetsk.
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More News On Eastern Ukraine Prepares For It's Independence Vote On Sunday
Ukraine separatists vow to go ahead with controversial referendum -- CNN
Ukraine: Donetsk polling stations gear up for Sunday referendum -- Euronews
Donetsk Separatists Embrace Referendum, Drink Free Coffee -- NBC
Ukraine's president: sovereignty in east would be self-destructive -- FOX News/AP
Ukraine to separatists: A vote for independence would be catastrophic -- Haaretz/Reuters
Ukraine crisis: Will the Donetsk referendum matter? -- BBC
My Comment: I expect a 95+% vote in favor of independence .... but no one outside of this region is going to recognize this vote.
