Donetsk and Lugansk regions to sum up on Monday the first results of referenda on self-determination

KIEV, May 12 (Itar-Tass) - The first results of Sunday's self-determination referenda held in Donetsk and Lugansk regions may become known on Monday. According to the regions' central electoral commissions, the turnout of voters, who took part in polling under the conditions of the Kiev authorities' ongoing punitive operation in Ukraine's east, was about 80 percent of registered electorate in Donetsk Region and approximately the same percentage in Lugansk one. The referenda were held in view of the proclamation of a Donetsk People's Republic and a Lugansk People's Republic way back in April. Meanwhile, the Kiev authorities maintain that the referenda in the eastern regions "will have no legal consequences for Ukraine's territorial integrity and the country's set-up", said a statement circulated by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry press service on Sunday. The authors of the document accused the organizers of the referenda "of violating Ukraine's Constitution and legislation". The Foreign Ministry expressed a supposition that "an overwhelming majority of the country's citizens in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions" would not go to the polls. Learn more on itar-tass.com