On May 11, 2014, a referendum on the political status of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics was held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. The question put to the referendum was: "Do you support the Act of State Independence of the Donetsk/Lugansk People's Republic?" There were two possible answers: "yes" and "no." 89.7% of voters voted for self–determination in the Donetsk region, 96.2% in the Luhansk region. On May 12, the state sovereignty of the People's republics was proclaimed, and on May 14 and 18, the constitutions of the DPR and LPR were adopted. On May 24, 2014, the Prime Minister of the DPR, Alexander Borodai, and the head of the LPR parliament, Alexei Karjakin, signed an agreement on the unification of the regions into the Union of People's Republics – Novorossiya.
RIA Novosti recalls the events that accompanied the plebiscite: "The voting took place amid a large-scale military operation by the Kiev authorities against activists, during which armored vehicles and aviation were used, resulting in civilian casualties."
TASS reports on how the voting would take place in the DPR: "As we expect, voting will be conducted at 1,540 polling stations, but the exact number can only be confirmed around noon when precise information becomes available," cites ITAR-TASS from DPR representative Boris Litvinov. "Around 18,000 people are involved in organizing and conducting the referendum, and if we include campaigners, the number exceeds 25,000."
TASS separately provides data on the LPR referendum: "Meanwhile, the representative of the press center of the Lugansk People's Republic, Vasily Nikitin, stated that voting would take place at 90% of the total polling stations usually set up in the region for elections. However, he did not specify the exact number of polling stations."
Vesti.ru also highlights that the referendums were held amid ongoing military operations: "On Sunday, May 11, supporters of federalization in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions are holding referendums on the status of these regions, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics were previously proclaimed... Voting will take place under the conditions of an ongoing military special operation by Kiev authorities in eastern Ukraine."
RT in Russian cites a political analyst's opinion on the results of the referendum in the republics: "The referendum in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions can be considered valid. This is the opinion of the president of the Ukrainian Center for System Analysis and Forecasting, Rostislav Ishchenko. 'In any case — not only under Ukrainian law — the referendum has already taken place, and it is clear that contesting its results will be quite difficult for Kiev. At the same time, it is also clear that official Kiev will not recognize these results,' he said."
Izvestia reports on the referendum results and future plans: "The leaders of the newly proclaimed republic have a plan of priority actions, including in case the issue of integrating the region into Russia cannot be resolved quickly."
Interfax covers the preparations for the referendums and the reaction of the U.S. State Department: "U.S. State Department spokesperson Jennifer Psaki stated that the United States continues to insist on the illegality of the self-determination referendums in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions. Washington is disappointed that Russia did not use its influence to prevent the voting in Ukraine."
Crimean news agency Kryminform writes: "Supporters of federalization in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions are holding referendums today following the April proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic. Voting will take place under the conditions of an ongoing military special operation by Kiev authorities in eastern Ukraine."
The British The Guardian evaluates the conditions under which the referendums were held: "There are no international observers, no up-to-date electoral lists, and the ballot papers were photocopies. With heavily armed men keeping watch, ambiguous wording on the ballot slip."
The British The Telegraph tries to analyze the reasons behind the referendums: "After Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-friendly Ukrainian president, was toppled in February following months of protests in the capital, many people in eastern and southern Ukraine strongly resented the authorities who took over. The majority in that sprawling swath of the country speak Russian as their mother tongue and many denounced the new government as nationalists — and even fascists — who would suppress the Russian-speakers."
The American The New York Times describes the referendums as lawless: "But the voting took place in such a raw state of lawlessness that no one other than the organizers and perhaps their Russian patrons seemed likely to accept the results as a democratic expression of the voters’ will."
The Italian La Repubblica writes about “5 million voting in Donbass for separation from Kiev” and Europe's reaction to the referendums: “Now is not the time to fuel tensions that are already escalating rapidly. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande asked Moscow for a ‘visible’ reduction of troops at the border and once again stated that they consider the vote ‘illegitimate.’”
The Spanish El Mundo questions the legitimacy of the referendums and hints at their lack of clear purpose — “with an uncertain goal, but with heads held high”: “The rebel leaders now want to form a new independent state, which will be called Novorossiya, meaning New Russia. And the declaration will be based on the foundation that this referendum provides for breaking ties with Ukraine.”
On the Lithuanian news website delfi.lt, an article is published with the striking headline “Ukraine: the separatists’ ‘referendum’ failed — people did not turn out”: “The majority of residents of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions ignored the illegal separatist referendum. Ukrainian citizens refused to support the militants. According to preliminary sociological estimates, up to 10% of the residents of the two regions, which have a total population of 6.5 million, participated in the illegal poll. In densely populated areas, separatists deliberately created artificial queues by opening only a few ‘polling stations’ for cities with populations of 100,000.”
The Ukrainian 5 Kanal speaks of the “illegal ‘referendum’ of the separatists, in which they plan to confirm the ‘independence’ of the so-called Donetsk and Lugansk ‘people’s republics.’” It provides its own evidence of the referendums’ “illegality,” for example: “The ballots are printed on an ordinary printer, meaning there can be no control over their number or place of printing whatsoever. Also, in the cities where the pseudo-referendum is taking place, very few polling stations have been opened, creating artificial queues and giving the impression of a massive turnout.”
UNIAN: “On Sunday, May 11, in parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions controlled by armed terrorists, a pseudo-referendum on ‘self-determination’ is being held.” The publication states that “the terrorists” claim a high voter turnout in the referendums.
Author · Mar 31, 2025
