Partial results show 95% backing for Crimea joining Russia: RIA

Members of a local electoral commission prepare to count ballots at a polling station in Simferopol on March 16, 2014. More than 95 per cent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia in a referendum on Sunday, according to
Members of a local electoral commission prepare to count ballots at a polling station in Simferopol on March 16, 2014. More than 95 per cent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia in a referendum on Sunday, according to partial results quoted by Russian state news agency RIA. -- PHOTO: AFP

MOSCOW (REUTERS) - More than 95 per cent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia in a referendum on Sunday, according to partial results quoted by Russian state news agency RIA.

It said the figure was provided by Mr Mikhail Malyshev, head of the referendum commission, after more than half the votes were counted on the Black Sea peninsula where Russian forces have seized control.

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