Elections have been held in the rebel held areas of eastern Ukraine, and were declared by the European Union to be “illegal” and “a new obstacle on the road to peace”.  It happened against the background of ominous new military movements inside the rebellious areas.

Some 90 unmarked military trucks with rocket launchers and other weapons were detected passing through the rebel-held Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.  And the Ukrainian military reported an “intensive deployment” of troops and equipment crossing the border from Russia into the east of the country

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko blasted the ballot as a “farce that is being conducted under the threat of tanks and guns” and warned Moscow not to follow through on its intention to recognize the result.  The rebel leaders of self-declared “Peoples Republics” of Donetsk and Luhanks were elected to leadership roles. 

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the vote in the Donetsk and Luhansk self-proclaimed republics “is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognize it”.