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 defense 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.”
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.
“Today is an important day for all Crimea, Ukraine and Russia,” said voter Manita Meshchina.
“I think that people are expecting the majority of people will vote ‘yes.' What it means is that people believe and think they need to be with Russia.”