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Sarah Rainsford in Donetsk: "I didn't see a single paper marked no"
Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's two eastern regions are holding "self-rule" referendums - a move condemned by the Ukrainian government and the West.
BBC correspondents at polling stations report chaotic scenes, no voting booths in places and no electoral register.
Self-proclaimed leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are going ahead with the vote despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to postpone it.
Ukraine says the vote could result in the "self-destruction" of the regions.
At the scene
Will Vernon BBC News, Mariupol
At the Primorsky polling station in Mariupol, a large crowd is gathered outside, waiting to vote. There is a crush of people inside. Organisation is chaotic at best. There are no polling booths: people vote at the registration desks. People's details are hastily scribbled on generic forms. There is also a collection for money towards funding the Donetsk People's Republic.
The chairman of this polling station, Sergei Babin, told the BBC that people from other regions are permitted to vote here. He said their details would be taken down, and then, to ensure they haven't voted elsewhere, "the lists from different polling stations would be checked against each other". When asked how long such a mammoth task would take, he replied, "One day."
Four polling stations are operating across Mariupol today, two days after deadly fighting broke out. Organisers are unsure of basic information regarding the referendum such as number of referendum employees, number of voters or even locations of polling stations.
There is only one question on the ballot papers, in both Ukrainian and Russian: "Do you support the act of state self-rule of the Donetsk People's Republic/Luhansk People's Republic?"
And there are still outbreaks of violence, with fighting reported overnight around the rebel-held city of Sloviansk.
'Total collapse'BBC reporters across eastern Ukraine have described the situation:
- At the Dom Kultura polling station in Sloviansk, organiser Vitaly Vyatko told the BBC voting was going well. Pro Russia militiamen in fatigues and balaclavas are voting alongside grandmothers
- But one pro-Ukrainian head teacher reported she received death threats after refusing to let the rebels use her school as a polling station
- The BBC's Piers Schofield, in Donetsk, says the process appears haphazard. Although there are voters' lists in polling stations, one can vote at any station
- The BBC spoke to one man there who is registered elsewhere - but simply gave his name and ID number and was allowed to vote
- The organiser at one Mariupol polling station told the BBC voters' details would be checked against lists from other stations in "one day"
The organisers have suggested they intend to hold a second round of voting later this month, on joining Russia. They also say they will boycott Ukraine's presidential elections on 25 May.
On Saturday, Ukraine's interim President Olexandr Turchynov admitted many in eastern Ukraine supported the pro-Russian militants, but warned that the referendums were "a step towards the abyss".
The EU and US have also condemned the referendums, amid fears that Ukraine could be sliding to civil war.
A survey by the Pew Research Centre suggested a majority even in eastern Ukraine - 70% - wanted to remain in a united country, despite concerns about governance.
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The BBC's Olga Ivshina takes a look at a Donetsk polling station
Last month, Russia annexed Ukraine's southern autonomous republic of Crimea, after a referendum.
Bill Taylor, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said results from Sunday's referendum should be treated with caution after what happened in Crimea.
Donetsk referendum
- Vote held in those cities and towns of Donetsk and Luhansk controlled by separatists
- Some three million ballot papers ask: "Do you support the act of state self-reliance of the Donetsk People's Republic?"
- Separatists aim to hold second round on 18 May, on joining the Russian Federation
- Referendum deemed illegal by Ukraine's government and the international community
"The first reports were... that 80% turned out and 97% agreed with the yes vote. And then we find out just a couple of days ago from an official Russian government website that the turnout was not 80%, it was only 30% in Crimea, and the yes vote was not 97%, it was only 50%," he told the BBC.
Russia is estimated to have some 40,000 troops near the border, but has said it has no plans to cross into mainland Ukraine.
Moscow says the troops have been pulled back, but Nato says it has seen no sign of this.
EU leaders have warned Russia it faces further sanctions if Ukraine's presidential election fails to go ahead.
Are you in the Donetsk or Luhansk region, or elsewhere in Ukraine? What do you think of the "self-rule" referendums? You can send us your thoughts by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Ukraine".
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