Fedor Ivanovich, 71, a pro-Russian local man, waves a cross during a demonstration against Sunday's Ukrainian elections in Donetsk's Lenin square May 24, 2014. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
KIEV/DONETSK, (Reuters) - Ukrainians are widely expected to give a resounding endorsement to the overthrow of their last elected leader by voting on Sunday for presidential candidates promising close ties with the West, in defiance of Russia's Vladimir Putin.
But the absence of more than 15 percent of the electorate, in Russian-annexed Crimea and two eastern regions where fighting with pro-Moscow rebels continued on Saturday, may mar any result - and leave the Kremlin questioning the victor's legitimacy, for all of a pledge by Putin to respect the people's will.
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