(25 May 2014) Polls opened in Ukraine on Sunday for a presidential election that could be a crucial step towards resolving the country's crisis.
The poll - which comes six months after the outbreak of protests which led to the overthrow of then President Viktor Yanukovych - aims to unify the fiercely divided country or at least discourage further polarisation.
Twenty-one candidates are running and about 35 million people are eligible to vote.
Polls show billionaire sweet-maker Petro Poroshenko with a commanding lead but falling short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round.
His nearest challenger is Yulia Tymoshenko, the divisive former prime minister, but her support is only six percent.
If no one wins in the first round, a runoff will be held on 15 June - polls suggest Poroshenko would win that contest.
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