Ukraine war: Luhansk residents hope for peace from referendum

Voters in Moscow-controlled Luhansk headed to polling stations on Tuesday to cast their ballots in a referendum on their accession to Russia. Over five days of voting, Luhansk - as well as the regions of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - have been deciding their future. Balloting was held at polling stations on Tuesday after previous days where authorities had gone door-to-door to collect votes. The Kremlin is expected to move immediately to absorb the regions once the voting is over.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s presidential office says at least 11 civilians have been killed and 18 others wounded by the latest Russian shelling. A strike on the town of Pervomaiskyi, in the northeastern Kharkiv region, killed eight people, including a 15-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said. Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said in televised comments that “the senseless shelling looks like an attempt to scare civilians.”

In the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian barrage focused on the cities of Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Toretsk, killing three and injuring 13 in 24 hours. The region is one of four where Moscow-installed authorities are conducting referendums on making the areas part of Russia. The Russians also shelled the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets facing the Russia-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant across the Dnieper River, Ukraine authorities said. In the Kryvyi Rih, the hometowm of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian cruise missile struck local airport, damaging its runway and taking it out of operation.