As violence continues throughout Eastern Ukraine, many people are also forming long queues, hoping to vote on a new referendum. Despite the protests from Kiev, many people from this part of the country believe their votes will helped them voice their opinion.

The voting began on Sunday, May 11, with long lines forming up all over the rebel-held or contested regions. According to Reuters, thousands of people keep lining up to vote, despite the ongoing violence. A separatist leader told the news agency that, after the vote, the new state will form its own government bodies and military while another leader said that the vote will not change much but will show that Eastern Ukraine wants to determine its own path.

The city of Mariupol, which recently has seen violent fighting, had eight polling stations set up to serve a populations of half a million, according to Reuters. Though many rebel leaders favor Russian annexation, their stance remains vague so as to not alienate support from more moderate dissenters.

The rushed referendum will end Sunday night at 10 p.m. In the meantime, there have been reports of fighting between separatists and government troops as well as disruptions by the latter. Although the Ukrainian Interior Minister stated that two-thirds of the region did not partake, Russian state television is optimistic.

In response to the referendum, Acting President Oleksander Turchynov warned that the vote would be "a step into the abyss for these regions."

"Those who stand for self-rule don't understand that it would mean the complete destruction of the economy," he said, according to The Independent.

Regardless of the president's objections, the vote will continue. Spirits remain high, according to The Independent, and many in the region are hopeful of the referendum's result. Roman Lyagin, the 33-year-old head of the "election commission" of the Donbas People's Republic, told the newspaper that "there will be around 20,000 willing to work as election officials, the voter turnout will be around 70 per cent and preliminary results will be announced a few hours after the polls close."