An election in the separatist regions of Ukraine may shatter a fragile ceasefire between the rebel forces and Kiev. Backed by Russia, the separatist rebels held elections in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, but no country other than Russia recognized the election results.

According to CNN, thousands lined up to vote in the elections that attempted to legitimize the separatist governments in the two breakaway regions. Election officials in the People's Republic of Donetsk voted to keep the separatist prime minister, Aleksandr Zakharchenko.

Similarly, election officials in the Luhansk People's Republic say the elections brought half a million people to the polls.

Russia has lauded the election and validated the elections in both regions despite international and Ukrainian opposition.

"The elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions were held in an organized way in general and with high voter turnout," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We respect the will expression of the citizens of the southeast."

However, instead of bringing stability, the elections threaten to throw the region back into chaos as neither Ukraine nor its Western allies recognize the results of the election, according to the AFP.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has gone as far as threatening to reconsider the carefully negotiated truce from early September.

"These pseudo-elections are a gross violation [of the Minks agreement]," the Ukrainian president said, referring to the deal brokered in the Belarusian capital.

Poroshenko added that his government would begin reconsidering the truce.

Reuters reports Poroshenko threatened to scrap a law designed to grant a special status to the separatist regions. The law would allow Donetsk and Luhansk to manage their own affairs and would grant amnesty to the rebel fighters in custody.

The United States sided with Ukraine on the issue, rejecting the election results as illegitimate.

"We are concerned by a Russian Foreign Ministry statement today that seeks to legitimize these sham 'elections,'" said spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council Bernadette Meehan.

Both the governments of Germany and France also sided with Ukraine, reports AFP.

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