Pro-Russian leaders play on these fears to justify the creation of their "People's Republic". Sunday's referendum is designed to give an appearance of legitimacy to a declaration of independence. The question on the ballot paper asks people in both Russian and Ukrainian to say "yes" or "no" to the "act of self-rule" in Donetsk and Luhansk, two regions which between them account for 15 per cent of Ukraine's population, 9 per cent of its surface area - and about 80 per cent of the country's coal reserves.