Ukrainians voted Sunday in local elections seen as a test of strength for President Petro Poroshenko's government and for the oligarchs accustomed to running their own regions, but a last-minute dispute blocked the ballot in a key port city. The vote took place as resentment and disappointment were running high among the electorate, AP reported. Voters were choosing more than 10,700 local councils as well as mayors in elections held nationwide, except for in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed rebels. In eastern areas recaptured by government forces after fierce fighting last year, former separatists were running for office as candidates from the Opposition Bloc. -- SPA 22:18 LOCAL TIME 19:18 GMT تغريد
