Donetsk polls open in independence referendum

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Voters in the eastern-Ukrainian city of Donetsk cast their ballots on Sunday (May 11) in an ambiguous referendum on self-rule that has raised fears in Kiev and the West of civil war and dismemberment.

Pro-Russian separatist leaders of the self-proclaimed "People's Republic of Donetsk" pressed the referendum even as Ukrainian leader Oleksander Turchinov warned pro-Russian eastern regions they would be stepping into the abyss if they voted.

Ballots asking voters if they support state "self-rule", which some see in it endorsement of autonomy within Ukraine, some a move to independence, and others a nod to absorption by Russia in the wake of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in March.

Annexation is favoured by the more prominent rebels, but the ambiguity may reflect their fears a full break would not garner enough support.

The eastern uprising followed the toppling in February of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, whose