The Crimean region voted on Sunday about whether to demand greater autonomy from Ukraine or split off and seek to join Russia, in a referendum that has been condemned as illegal by the United States and European countries.

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The vote took place several weeks after Russian-led forces took control of Crimea, a predominantly ethnic Russian region.

Crimean residents say they fear the Ukrainian government that took over when pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted last month will oppress them.

On Sunday, the defence ministries of Ukraine and Russia agreed to a truce in Crimea until March 21.

On Saturday, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces backed by helicopter gunships and armored vehicles had advanced about 6 miles (10 kilometres) over the Crimean border into another Ukrainian region, where they took control of a village that holds a natural gas distribution facility.

If the referendum passes, Russia faces the prospect of sanctions from Western nations, but Moscow has vigorously resisted calls to pull back in Crimea.

Since Yanukovich fled to Russia, Crimea has come under control of local militia forces, as well as heavily armed troops under apparent command from Moscow.

Crimea’s pro-Russia authorities say that if Ukrainian soldiers resolutely occupying their garrisons don’t surrender after Sunday’s vote, they will be considered “illegal.”

But Ukraine’s acting defence minister, Igor Tenyuk, said in an interview published Sunday by the Interfax news agency that “this is our land and we’re not going anywhere from this land.”

Russia isolated at UN

In Sevastopol, the Crimean capital where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based under a lease agreement with Ukraine, enthusiasm for the referendum was high, with voters lining up outside polling stations before they opened.

In Sevastopol, more than 70 people surged into a polling station within the first 15 minutes of voting.

Crimea’s large Tatar Muslim minority opposes annexation to Russia.

At the United Nations, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution declaring the referendum illegal, and China, its ally, abstained in a sign of Moscow’s isolation on the issue.

Supporters of the US-sponsored resolution knew ahead of time that Russia would use its veto on Saturday.

But they put the resolution to a vote to show the strength of opposition in the 15-member UN Security Council to Moscow’s takeover of Crimea. The final vote was 13 members in favor, China’s abstention, and Russia as a permanent council member casting a veto.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)



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