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| Chocolate tycoon Poroshenko claims victory in Ukrainian presidential election | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Updated at 2:05 p.m.: Poroshenko has declared victory in the Ukrainian election; Tymoshenko has conceded defeat. | |
| KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainians headed to the polls Sunday to pick a replacement for ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, in a crucial election that will help determine the future of this violence-racked nation. | KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainians headed to the polls Sunday to pick a replacement for ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, in a crucial election that will help determine the future of this violence-racked nation. |
| Exit poll results released immediately after voting ended showed chocolate tycoon Petro Poroshenko heading to a resounding victory, taking more than 55 percent of the vote and avoiding a runoff election that could have further destabilized the country. | Exit poll results released immediately after voting ended showed chocolate tycoon Petro Poroshenko heading to a resounding victory, taking more than 55 percent of the vote and avoiding a runoff election that could have further destabilized the country. |
| Seeking to put an end to three months of geopolitical drama, Ukrainians were voting for a leader who will have to address escalating violence in the east of the country, the status of the Crimean Peninsula since its annexation by Russia in March and an economy that was in trouble even before the fall of Yanukovych set off the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the Cold War. | Seeking to put an end to three months of geopolitical drama, Ukrainians were voting for a leader who will have to address escalating violence in the east of the country, the status of the Crimean Peninsula since its annexation by Russia in March and an economy that was in trouble even before the fall of Yanukovych set off the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the Cold War. |
| One critical test of stability will be whether Ukraine’s eastern regions will accept the results of the election. Many cities across the east have been occupied by pro-Russian separatists, who vowed to disrupt the vote wherever possible. They appeared largely successful on that front Sunday, leaving open the question of whether the election winner will be able to claim a mandate to represent all the people of this divided nation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in recent days that he will work with Ukraine’s future president, but he has refused to say whether he would recognize the election as legitimate. | One critical test of stability will be whether Ukraine’s eastern regions will accept the results of the election. Many cities across the east have been occupied by pro-Russian separatists, who vowed to disrupt the vote wherever possible. They appeared largely successful on that front Sunday, leaving open the question of whether the election winner will be able to claim a mandate to represent all the people of this divided nation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in recent days that he will work with Ukraine’s future president, but he has refused to say whether he would recognize the election as legitimate. |
| Poroshenko captured 56 percent of the vote, according to a state-run exit poll, ahead of his main challenger, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who had 13 percent of the vote. A second TNS exit poll showed the rivals with 57 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Official results are not expected until Monday. | Poroshenko captured 56 percent of the vote, according to a state-run exit poll, ahead of his main challenger, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who had 13 percent of the vote. A second TNS exit poll showed the rivals with 57 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Official results are not expected until Monday. |
| If Poroshenko captures the more than 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a June 15 runoff, Ukraine could avoid the instability that is expected to continue if three more weeks go by without an elected president. | If Poroshenko captures the more than 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a June 15 runoff, Ukraine could avoid the instability that is expected to continue if three more weeks go by without an elected president. |
| “The Russians are looking to create a civil war inside Ukraine,” said Alexander Stelmakh, 36, a construction worker who came with his 3-year-old son to vote at School No. 15 in the leafy Holoseevsky neighborhood on the outskirts of Kiev. Turnout appeared heavy as voters lined up to fill out the large paper ballots. | “The Russians are looking to create a civil war inside Ukraine,” said Alexander Stelmakh, 36, a construction worker who came with his 3-year-old son to vote at School No. 15 in the leafy Holoseevsky neighborhood on the outskirts of Kiev. Turnout appeared heavy as voters lined up to fill out the large paper ballots. |
| Stelmakh said he had voted for Poroshenko because the candidate “is the one person who is actually neutral,” a common sentiment among voters who hope that the front-runner can thread his way between competing pressures from the European Union and Russia over Ukraine’s future. | Stelmakh said he had voted for Poroshenko because the candidate “is the one person who is actually neutral,” a common sentiment among voters who hope that the front-runner can thread his way between competing pressures from the European Union and Russia over Ukraine’s future. |
| Poroshenko, 48, a former foreign and economics minister who allied himself with protesters early in the efforts against Yanukovych, said Sunday that he hoped for a decisive victory. | Poroshenko, 48, a former foreign and economics minister who allied himself with protesters early in the efforts against Yanukovych, said Sunday that he hoped for a decisive victory. |
| “People with weapons must be moved out from Ukraine’s streets, cities, towns and villages,” Poroshenko said Sunday after voting in central Kiev. “I am certain that such a powerful factor of destabilization, through which terrorists have been trying to disrupt the elections, today failed miserably.” | “People with weapons must be moved out from Ukraine’s streets, cities, towns and villages,” Poroshenko said Sunday after voting in central Kiev. “I am certain that such a powerful factor of destabilization, through which terrorists have been trying to disrupt the elections, today failed miserably.” |
| He vowed that his first trip, if elected, would be to the Donetsk Basin, the hotbed of separatist sentiment. | He vowed that his first trip, if elected, would be to the Donetsk Basin, the hotbed of separatist sentiment. |
| In Ukraine’s troubled east on Sunday, problems with voting were widespread, and pro-Russian separatists had attacked polling places, according to the office of Serhiy Taruta, the governor of Donetsk. | In Ukraine’s troubled east on Sunday, problems with voting were widespread, and pro-Russian separatists had attacked polling places, according to the office of Serhiy Taruta, the governor of Donetsk. |
| One man was killed and another was wounded in a skirmish near the town of Novoaidar, Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovoi told journalists, without giving details. Rebel forces in the area said the Ukrainian national guard had overrun a separatist position in the area, the news agency Interfax reported. | One man was killed and another was wounded in a skirmish near the town of Novoaidar, Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovoi told journalists, without giving details. Rebel forces in the area said the Ukrainian national guard had overrun a separatist position in the area, the news agency Interfax reported. |
| There were difficulties even in areas nominally under government control. On Sunday morning, people started trickling into a polling station in Veliko Novoselovka, where a well-entrenched unit of Ukrainian troops backed by armored personnel carriers operated a roadblock along the highway between the town and Donetsk, 60 miles east. A second roadblock was just outside town. | There were difficulties even in areas nominally under government control. On Sunday morning, people started trickling into a polling station in Veliko Novoselovka, where a well-entrenched unit of Ukrainian troops backed by armored personnel carriers operated a roadblock along the highway between the town and Donetsk, 60 miles east. A second roadblock was just outside town. |
| But voters were initially turned away because of a lack of ballots. The district’s top election official had been abducted Saturday and the ballots stolen, said the election official in charge of the polling station, who would give his name only as Oleksandr. | But voters were initially turned away because of a lack of ballots. The district’s top election official had been abducted Saturday and the ballots stolen, said the election official in charge of the polling station, who would give his name only as Oleksandr. |
| “It’s my duty to come here,” said Raya Bogdanovna, 87, who walked to the polling station at School No. 1 but headed home again after being told she could not vote. Officials promised to bring her a ballot if any arrived. | “It’s my duty to come here,” said Raya Bogdanovna, 87, who walked to the polling station at School No. 1 but headed home again after being told she could not vote. Officials promised to bring her a ballot if any arrived. |
| By mid-afternoon, ballots arrived in the town hall under Ukrainian army escort. But in a sign of the chaos surrounding the election, officials were still numbering and affixing official stamps more than three hours later and no one in town had been able to vote. | By mid-afternoon, ballots arrived in the town hall under Ukrainian army escort. But in a sign of the chaos surrounding the election, officials were still numbering and affixing official stamps more than three hours later and no one in town had been able to vote. |
| “We very much wanted to vote. We want to end this disorder,” said another woman, a retired school teacher with tears in her eyes who gave only her first name, Tatyana. She referred to the separatists as Russian-sponsored “bandits.” “They’re shooting our children,” she said. “Russia doesn’t want Ukraine to succeed.” | “We very much wanted to vote. We want to end this disorder,” said another woman, a retired school teacher with tears in her eyes who gave only her first name, Tatyana. She referred to the separatists as Russian-sponsored “bandits.” “They’re shooting our children,” she said. “Russia doesn’t want Ukraine to succeed.” |
| But Tatyana was also critical of the government in Kiev, saying it should have done more to keep the situation under control. | But Tatyana was also critical of the government in Kiev, saying it should have done more to keep the situation under control. |
| Donetsk and Luhansk, with a combined population of just over 6.5 million, were declared sovereign republics by pro-Russian separatists after chaotic referendums there two weeks ago. Even if polling stations were open, it was unclear how many residents would risk voting after widespread threats of violence. | Donetsk and Luhansk, with a combined population of just over 6.5 million, were declared sovereign republics by pro-Russian separatists after chaotic referendums there two weeks ago. Even if polling stations were open, it was unclear how many residents would risk voting after widespread threats of violence. |
| More than 1,000 international observers are in place across Ukraine, although they have largely pulled out of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, saying there was nothing to observe if no vote was taking place. Exit polls are expected to hint at the outcome ahead of official results Monday. | More than 1,000 international observers are in place across Ukraine, although they have largely pulled out of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, saying there was nothing to observe if no vote was taking place. Exit polls are expected to hint at the outcome ahead of official results Monday. |
| Pro-Russian militants, who have seized government buildings, clashed with government troops and declared two new sovereign countries, are boycotting the election, insisting the referendums are valid. The referendums, declared a farce by Kiev and illegal by the West, showed that an overwhelming majority of residents in mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine wanted some form of self-rule. | Pro-Russian militants, who have seized government buildings, clashed with government troops and declared two new sovereign countries, are boycotting the election, insisting the referendums are valid. The referendums, declared a farce by Kiev and illegal by the West, showed that an overwhelming majority of residents in mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine wanted some form of self-rule. |
| Putin repeated Saturday that Russia will respect the outcome of Ukraine’s election. “We are going to work with the authorities that are formed, based on the election,” he told reporters in St. Petersburg. | Putin repeated Saturday that Russia will respect the outcome of Ukraine’s election. “We are going to work with the authorities that are formed, based on the election,” he told reporters in St. Petersburg. |
| Also Sunday, the deaths of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rochelli, 30, and his Russian translator, Andrei Mironov, 60, were confirmed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two were killed by mortar fire Saturday near the rebel-held city of Slovyansk, the OSCE said. The exact circumstances remain unclear. Mironov, a former dissident who was imprisoned during the Soviet era, was a longtime fixture of Moscow’s journalism community and well-known to many Western reporters there. | Also Sunday, the deaths of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rochelli, 30, and his Russian translator, Andrei Mironov, 60, were confirmed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two were killed by mortar fire Saturday near the rebel-held city of Slovyansk, the OSCE said. The exact circumstances remain unclear. Mironov, a former dissident who was imprisoned during the Soviet era, was a longtime fixture of Moscow’s journalism community and well-known to many Western reporters there. |
| Kunkle reported from Donetsk. Daniela Deane in London and Abigail Hauslohner in Moscow contributed to this report. | Kunkle reported from Donetsk. Daniela Deane in London and Abigail Hauslohner in Moscow contributed to this report. |