Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine have said they will not postpone a referendum on autonomy planned for Sunday.
The decision comes one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the vote to be postponed to create the conditions necessary for dialogue.
Ukrainian authorities say they will disregard the results and that "anti-terror" operations will continue.
Millions of ballot papers have been prepared for the vote.
Separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk are adamant the referendums will go ahead.
[...]
The European Union weighed in on Thursday, warning of the dangers of pressing ahead with the vote.
"Such a vote could have no democratic legitimacy and would only further worsen the situation," a spokesperson for the EU foreign policy chief told reporters.
The separatists' resolution to hold the referendum comes as a Pew Research Center poll released on Thursday shows that a strong majority of Ukrainians want their country to remain unified, even in the largely Russian-speaking east.
On Wednesday, the White House said the "illegitimate, illegal" plebiscite should be cancelled rather than postponed.
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It's good that Putin is feeling the need to respond to criticism from the US and EU, but it still looks like this bloody trainwreck is going to get worse.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.