The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned referendum in east Ukraine, stressing that Romania is attached to keeping the territorial integrity and sovereignty of neighboring Ukraine.

The ministry made an appeal to Russia to never recognize the referendum and their outcomes.

Earlier in the day, local residents in Ukraine's states of Donetsk and Lugansk went to the polls over whether they want to remain part of Ukraine, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for delayed votes on Wednesday.

The referendum came after Crimea joined Russia on March 18 following an independence vote on the peninsula that was not recognized by Kiev and the West.