Crimea Election Official Says 95 Percent of Voters Chose to Join Russia

UPDATE, 4:45 P.M. ET - Mikhail Malishev, head of the Crimean referendum committee, said 95 percent of voters approved splitting from Ukraine and joining Russia, according to the Associated Press. Malishev announced that number Sunday night after more than 50 percent of the ballots had been counted.

His announcement came shortly after the United States condemned the referendum, calling it unlawful. "Russia’s actions are dangerous and destabilizing," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

KIEV, Ukraine — In what seemed to be an ominous beginning to the day, dark clouds and heavy rains swept over Crimea as residents of the Black Sea peninsula went to the polls to decide their future in a move backed by the Kremlin but denounced by the acting Ukrainian government and the West. Read more...