Crimea referendum

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Wide condemnation after region votes to split from Ukraine

Crimean voters on Sunday overwhelmingly backed a referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. This election was denounced by the United States, Europe, and the Ukrainian government as illegal and destabilizing. Fireworks went off and Russian flags waved over jubilant crowds after the vote, which election officials said stood at 95 percent with more than half of the ballots counted. The vote offered the voters on the strategic Black Sea peninsula the choice of seeking annexation by Russia or remaining in Ukraine with greater autonomy. Ukraine's new government in Kiev called the referendum a "circus" directed at gunpoint by Moscow (referring to the thousands of troops that are occupying the peninsula.). The referendum came two weeks after Russian-led forces seized control of Crimea. Locals say that they fear the new Ukrainian government that took over will oppress them. Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the referendum was conducted in "full accordance with international law and the U.N. charter." At the United Nations on Saturday, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution declaring the referendum illegal. President Obama spoke with Putin after the vote, and the White House said it would reject the results of the referendum held "under threats of violence and intimidation."