Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said he will respect the outcome of Ukraine’s presidential election.
Speaking in St Petersburg, he said Russia was prepared to work with whoever was elected Ukraine’s president in Sunday’s vote.
It is the first time Mr Putin has explicitly indicated that he will accept Ukraine’s election result.
Violence in the east, particularly Donetsk and Luhansk, has seriously disrupted preparations for the polls.
Some pro-Russian separatists have warned people against voting, while election officials and voter lists have been seized at gunpoint.
At least 14 government soldiers were killed in clashes with pro-Russia separatists in the Volnovakha area south of the city of Donetsk on Thursday.
Further clashes were reported on Friday between pro-Russia separatists and self-defence fighters in the Donetsk region, with reports of at least two people killed.
