A fast-track referendum on the status of Crimea is being welcomed in the region, home to an ethnic Russian majority. <br /><br />Many residents in Simferopol say it is a chance to express their will.<br /><br />“I personally have a very negative opinion towards the United States. You’ve seen how they have managed to put half of the world on their knees,” says one man.<br /><br />“The only thing for us is to stay with Russia. Then we will have peace and prosperity.”<br /><br />A woman in Simferopol adds: “I support the referendum but I haven’t decided what I am going to vote for.”<br /><br />But in Kiev – the epicentre of opposition against deposed President Viktor Yanukovych – the referendum is being rejected.<br /><br />“If there is a law in Ukraine which says the referendum should be on a national level, it should be national. If they want to decide on their own statutes, let them decide,” says one man in the capital. <br /><br />“The major question is what Crimea wants, just to be under Russia or to change their lives for the better.”<br /><br />Western critics say the referendum is illegitimate and will violate Ukraine’s constitution. It is the latest twist in the worst confrontation since the end of the Cold War.
