Crimea votes

The Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea has voted and early reports say residents are overwhelmingly in favour of joining Russia.

The Crimean election chief said that after half of the ballots had been counted, 95 per cent of voters were in favour of becoming part of the Russian Federation.

The vote has been condemned as illegal by Canada, the United States and European countries as well as by the United Nations. Ukraine’s parliament has called it “unconstitutional.”

Meanwhile, pro-Russian rallies were held across the Crimean peninsula today to celebrate the vote. Despite resistance from Ukraine, Crimean officials say the results will be valid.