the day has come for nataliya and her friends to vote. for months they have been watching events unfold in their neighbourhood. for her the ballot is about ending the conflict in ukraine. it's important to vote and stand up for our city, otherwise all of this will have been in vain. the main thing is stability for the people and faith in the future. >> reporter: nataliya will not tell us who she voted for. there's three candidates, but it's alex ander zakharchenko the acting prime minister who is expected to win. he cast his vote first. >> i did not go out to war today. this is an historical day, a day of elections, a peaceful affair. i wore suits. i know how to wear it, and military uniforms. >> a mining electrician turned fighter, the vote is about legitimacy. so far only moscow indicated it would recognise the results. kiev says the vote is illegitimate. >> there are a large cue of voters. this one stretches all the way down the corridor. people say they have been waiting up to two hours to cast a ballot. this is the image that the sep

. >> the day has come for nataliya and her friends to vote. for months they have been watching event unfold in donetsk. for her, the ballot is about ending the conflict in ukraine. >> translation: it's important to vote and stand up for the city otherwise all of this would have been insane. >> reporter: nataliya will not tell us who she voted for. there are three candidates. it's alexander zakharchenko who is expected. the first to cast his ballot station. it was his first public appearance. >> i did not go out to war. this is an historical day, a day of elections, a peaceful affair. i wore suits, i know how to wear it, as well as the military uniform. >> for the mining electrician turned fighter, the vote is about legitimacy. only moscow indicated that it would recognise the results. kiev says the vote is illegitimate. >> there's a large queue of voters. this one stretches all the way down the corridor. people say they have been waiting up to two hours to cast the ballot. here, there's a zelle brags -- celebration involving children. this is

the main thing is stability for the people, and faith in the future >>> nataliya will not tell us who she voted for. there are three candidates for the presidency in donetsk, but it's alexander zakharchenko, the acting prime minister of the pro-russian separatist who is expected to win. he was the first one to cast his ballot in this polling station, and it was his first public appearance in civilian clothes. >> i did not go out to war today. this is an historical day. a day of elections. they are a peaceful affair, so i wore a suit. i know how to wear it, and a military uniform. >> for this man, a mining technician, now voter. there's a large queue of voters. this one stretches all the way down the corridor. people say they have been waiting up to two hours to cast a ballot. here, there was a celebration involving children. this is the kind of image the separatist leaders hope for to show that they do enjoy popular support. at least among the people that chose to remain in the east. the vote is dominated by an older generation, nostalgic for the russian era. a time where there was li

. >> the day has come for nataliya to vote. for months they have been watching event unfold in donetsk. the balanlot for her is ending e fighting in ukraine. >> translation: it's important to vote and end the violence in the city. all of this would have been invain the the main thing is safety for the future >>> there are three candidates for the presidency in donetsk. it's alexander zacharenko who is expected to win. it was his first public opinion and he was the first to cast a ballot. >> translation: i did not go out to war. this is an historical day, a day of elections, a day, a peaceful affair, to sa war suit. i know how to wear it as well as a military uniform. >> reporter: a mining electrician turned fighter - to him the vote is about authenticity even though moscow has said they'll recognise the vote. kiev its it is illegitimate. there are a large number of voters. it stretches down the corridor, people have been waiting up to two hours to cast their ballots. here, there is is celebration involving children. this is the