Defiant in Donetsk

Soviet nostalgia is evident ahead of Sunday's independence referendum in Donetsk, where the traditional Victory Day ceremony in the city's Lenin Comsomol park featured old Soviet songs and vintage tanks. Most in attendance wore orange and black striped ribbons - usually a symbol of the May 9 celebration, but now worn by the pro-Russia separatist movement.

Supporters of the Donetsk People's Republic, which wants to detach the region politically from the government in Kyiv, rally in the city center nearby, riding on a wave of Russian patriotic sentiment generated by the historic day. In a bold display of confidence, a rebel military unit marched through the street, armed and unmasked, to cheers and chants of "Russia, Russia."

''We want the Donetsk region - our people - to be liberated, to independently pass decisions about our government, about our budget and how we will move forward,' said one female protester.

Not surprisingly, most people at the rally said they would take part in Sunday's so-called referendum. But not all wanted to join Russia.

"Yes, I will vote for Donetsk People's Republic." said Marina, "But only because I'm not happy with the current government in Ukraine - not because I want our region to separate from Ukraine, or unite with the Russian Federation."

Lack of oversight

The newly-appointed election commission in Donetsk, housed in the Donetsk People's Republic headquarters at the separatist-occupied city hall, says it expects a 75 percent turnout in tomorrow's poll in the city. It plans to hold the vote in a series of school buildings. But this is a political group organizing its own poll for its own purpose - a vote the separatist entity already proclaims will go in its favor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the planned vote illegitimate. There is no official, independent monitoring in place at the polling stations, but the OSCE says its teams will be on the ground.

"Our monitors will be out [on Sunday], as they have been every day since arriving in Ukraine over a month ago, observing and documenting the general situation," says Michael Bociurkiw, OSCE spokesman in Kyiv.

There are over 150 monitors in the country now, but Bociurkiw says that the staff "will be adopting a low profile tomorrow (Sunday) in the East. We typically look out for signs of escalation, occupation of buildings, signs of weaponry and the like."

Regional divisions

The controversial vote is not going ahead everywhere in the Donetsk region. Separatists do not control the town of Dokuchayevsk, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Donetsk city.

In Dokuchayevsk's main square, pro-Russian volunteers are running a small tent, trying to win over the local population with flyers and information about Sunday's poll. But they are frustrated about the resistance they face from local authorities. A separatist volunteer complains they do not have access to polling stations and the electoral register.

At the nearby town hall, the Ukrainian flag is still flying, and the local council says it will not co-operate with a poll. "We don't have legal grounds to hold this referendum," says Olga Rukhmakova, from the Dokuchayevsk town council. "Therefore, I don't know how the people who want this referendum will be holding it."

Rukhmakova says that in a town with high unemployment, people might want political change, but they do not want to side with the separatists, who are creating tension in the town.

"It's tense, because residents of the town don't understand what's happening around them," Rukhmakova explains. They don't want changes happening against their will. They believe that nobody is taking their opinion into account today."

Logistical confusion

However, there is some level of dialogue between the two sides. At a round table meeting held in an office at the town hall, community leaders meet to talk about the referendum with separatists. Pro-Russian politicians here say they will respect local views.

"We'll be asking people's opinion - whether they want this, or not," says Yuriy Lekstutes, a politician representing the Donetsk People's Republic. "If, following the referendum, the majority will say that they don't want this, then this should be respected."

In the nearby village of Mykolayivka, on the other hand, the pro-Ukraine leadership has no plans to stage a referendum at all. Authorities here say no one from the separatist movement has even approached them. The Ukrainian flag flies here, too, and local leaders say they only take instructions from Kyiv.

Slavik, who works as a security guard at the local school, says it does not matter to him who is in charge at the village hall. But he adds that no one has asked him to participate in the vote. "There is nothing. There is no invitation. I don't even know where the voting will take place, where the ballot box will be. I don't know anything."

Slavik describes himself as a Ukrainian patriot, but with little information coming from the central government, he says he would now vote for the separatists. The village authorities say they fear many more people like him are turning towards Russia. However, if the logistical side of Sunday's poll isn't addressed, locals here may not be voting at all.