EU ups ante against Russia as East Ukraine votes against govt

European Union foreign ministers on Friday hinted at new economic sanctions against Russia after a disputed referendum in eastern Ukraine found that 90 per cent of the voters supported independence from Ukraine.

While the EU did not verify the claim of the separatists and there was no independent authority to observe the process, Brussels has warned that any disruption of the 25 May elections in Ukraine could trigger fresh sanctions on Russia.

At a meeting in Brussels, the EU agreed to add 13 people and two companies to the existing sanctions list. Monday's disputed referendum in eastern Ukraine could deepen turmoil here and further set Russia against the West, they warned.

The EU had earlier imposed a freeze on assets and visa bans on 48 Russians and Ukrainians after Russia decided to annex Crimea, which severed links with Ukraine and decided to go with Russia.

British foreign secretary William Hague said Britain wanted the EU to intensify preparations for further sanctions.

''We will keep up the pressure on the Russians and we have decided today not only to continue to prepare the third tier of sanctions but to be clear that it is the attitude and behaviour of all parties, including Russia, towards the holding of the elections on May 25, that will be a major determinant of whether such sanctions are necessary,'' said Hague.

Voters who supported the referendum in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said Kiev and Moscow should consider the "will of the people," which overwhelmingly is in support of joining the Russian Federation.

People in Krasnoarmeisk are also supposed to vote heavily for sovereignty.

Ukraine's government and the West rejected Sunday's vote and accused Moscow of directing the unrest in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency has reported that two people were killed by pro-Ukraine troops who had attempted to stop the vote at city hall.

Ukraine's government said the vote was illegal and that many people in the eastern Ukraine were not sure what it all meant.

Ukraine's president said the only true vote would be a 25 May ballot in which the entire country votes for a new president and national parliament.

EU member states, however, are divided over the sanctions plan, as some fear that tough sanctions could undermine their own economies and provoke Russian retaliation.

Ukraine has been in turmoil for months after Russia opposed European Union intervention in Ukraine that led to a rift between Russia and the former Soviet republic.

Russia has stationed 40,000 troops on the eastern Ukraine border and has threatened to invade if ethnic Russians in Ukraine need protection or if Ukraine ignored the demands of the separatists.