Residents of eastern Ukraine, who are mostly pro-Russian separatists, cast their votes as they chose their leaders on Sunday, fueling their conflict with the Ukrainian government and pushing their plans of being an independent region.

Thousands of residents in the east lined up as they waited for their turn to cast their votes. The vote reportedly was taken very well by the Russian government but was detested by Ukraine and the West as the separatists pressed that Ukraine is already losing its control over the region.

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Because of this, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called for a meeting with his security chiefs on Tuesday as the separatists warned last week that they will be taking over more regions that they believe would be vital for their empowerment.

In a statement, Poroshenko called the vote an electoral absurdity, saying that the separatist violated the ceasefire agreements signed in Minsk on September 5 both by him and the leader of the rebels.

The sentiments voiced out by the Ukrainian leader have been repeated by the White House as they called the election an illegitimate move. Washington also warned Russia of having other economic penalties aside from the sanctions already imposed in the past months.

According to the spokeswoman of the White House National Security Council, Bernadette Meehan, Washington is greatly concerned with the statements of the Russian Foreign Ministry as they noted that they are seeking to legitimize the said elections.

The votes by the separatists would further strain the conflict in the country and would threaten the territorial unity of the areas not annexed by Russia and not seized by the rebels, according to analysts.

Poreshenko already offered the separatists a "special status" in the areas they have seized but the rebels did not approve of it and scrapped the said deal. The special status would allow the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to have their own affairs and also offered the separatist immunity prosecution in the future.

The pro-Russian separatists are aiming to call their region "New Russia" if and when their plans fall into place. 

TagsUkraine crisis, Ukraine election, Donetsk, Luhansk, russia-ukraine