Crimeans Celebrate Pro-Russia Vote as Ukraine Tensions Rise

Their home the focus of a standoff between world powers and their votes pitting global leaders against each other, most Crimeans are celebrating their peninsula’s return to Russia after 60 years of Ukrainian rule.

“Today, we got hope for a better future,” said Yana Sever, a 19-year-old hairdresser, as she celebrated with a crowd in central Simferopol, the separatist region’s capital. “We lack big opportunities here and being in Russia gives us an outlook, a perspective for education and a career.”